From Here to Eternity
by Aliel Yevrah
Summary: The long awaited return of Randy and Lora! This is the fourth installment for the couple, so if you haven't read anything before this, I suggest you start with "The Awful Truth", then "For Keeps" and finally "Are We There Yet?" before starting this one. Happy Reading! And don't forget to REVIEW!
1. Ever After

**So, here we are again! Another installment for Randy and Lora! I am so sorry for the two year hiatus. Like I said in my note at the end of "Are We There Yet?", I hadn't realized just how much was left out there and unresolved. It was a bad time, and I guess I needed a mental break. I am just now getting back into loving what I do, which is writing. I do hope that I still all my loyal readers to go down this road with me.**

 **A few notes before we begin. This first chapter is going to be a recap of somethings, told in both Lora and Randy's POV. It'll begin 18 months after the death of Callie, Lora's mother. I'll do a few flashbacks just to wrap that time up. But after this chapter, it'll go back to the way it was before, with every fourth chapter being in Randy's POV.**

 **I have been up nearly all night, getting excited all over again about all the scenarios that I can throw at you guys! And at some point, you might even hate me like Shonda Rhimes in the Grey's universe. Which, by the way, SPOILER ALERT for those that haven't seen the tragedy of this last season, How DARE she kill off McDreamy!? I will promise this, Randy and Lora are safe from any pre-determined fatal accidents! LOL.. So, if we're all ready, here we go!**

 **Chapter 1-** Ever After

 **18 months later**

I sighed, staring down at my youngest children, sharing the same crib. The twins were inseparable, refusing to sleep in their own cribs. Reaching down, I ruffled the hair on top of their heads. It was a perfect mix of red and brown. A perfect mix of Randy and myself. Mackenzie Jade and Zackary Tyler. Or, as John like to call them, Mack and Zack attack. Which, giggling softly to myself, was absolutely correct. While Keith and Tiegan were well-behaved kids, these two liked to cause panic and mayhem. Zack snorted softly in his sleep, and turned on his side to sling an arm over Mackenzie. Smiling one last time, I backed out of their room.

Randy and I had built onto the house, the twins' nursery, above the garage. The pale yellow walls were accentuated with pale blues and pinks. Two cribs sat side by side at one end of the bedroom, though, usually, only one was used. Pulling the door to a little, I walked back down the hallway, peaking in on my other sleeping child. Tiegan was curled up in her toddler bed, surrounding herself with almost every soft toy she had. I could only make out her little feet beneath every Disney princess doll, including the two nearest editions, Elsa and Anna. Ever since that movie had come out, and the DVD was purchased, it played on a near constant loop in the playroom. Every member of the family had the soundtrack memorized by heart, including Randy. I had actually caught him humming the catchy tune of "Let It Go" in the shower once. I still haven't let him live it down.

Walking back down the stairs, I saw Keith on the living room sofa, barely keeping his eyes open. He was my oldest, and the six year old thought he was too "grown up" for naps. I smirked at him and sat down beside him on the couch. He was still in his practice gear from his baseball camp this morning. We certainly had a little slugger on our hands. The talent just flowed from him. He was the best on his team, even though he was the youngest. He had long graduated from tee-ball to coaches' pitch. Keith turned sleepy blue eyes up to me, smiling softly as I started another episode of Bubble Guppies on the DVR. I patted his leg gently, and made my way to the kitchen.

I paused when I passed a picture that was hung up on the wall. I stopped and turned to stare at the woman in the picture. My heart tugged painfully as I looked in the brown eyes of my mother. My chin shivered slightly, remembering that today would have been her birthday. I carefully took the picture from the wall and sat down on the bottom step. My eyes dusted over as I ran my fingers across the glass. I had still been pregnant with the twins when she passed. I closed my eyes and let the memories wash over me.

 _I sat back down on the couch in the mother's empty house. Well, empty in an emotional sense. Certainly not a physical one. The funeral had ended a few hours ago, and there seemed to be a never ending parade of people shuffling through. There was hardly a free space to sit in the house. My friends and family surrounded me, yet I had never felt more alone. I wrapped my hands around the bump in my belly and closed my eyes, drowning out the noise around me. The couch moved beneath me and I turned to look over to see Zoey sitting next to me. Her brown eyes were bloodshot from her own fair share of crying. She smiled softly and held my hand. We sat there in silence for a while, before she spoke._

" _Do you remember when we were little, and you convinced Mark and me that the UPS men were really a clan of mass murderers?" Zo begin, a smile pulling at the frown on her face. I remembered this story vividly. I felt a small laugh bubble in my chest, and leaned into Zoey's shoulder. "And of course, Mom was a member of that book club, and by a crazy happenstance, a UPS truck pulled into the driveway right after you told us that."_

" _You two went screaming into the house, begging Moma not to open the door," I said, openly chuckling now, at the memory. It had been a coincidence of course, but I couldn't believe my luck. "She was so mad at me for weeks after that!"_

 _A silence fell between us for a moment, before I heard a sniffle next to me. Peeking over at my sister, I saw her dab a lone tear rolling down her cheek. I squeezed her hand tightly, knowing exactly how she felt. Someone cleared their throat behind us, and we both looked over our shoulders to see Mark coming to sit on the back of the couch._

" _I still give a double take every time I see one of those brown trucks," both Zoey and I giggled softly, reminiscing over past times. "But that wasn't nothing compared to the time Lo and I had ganged up on you, Zoey, and began beating you with our pillows, pretending they were metal stadium chairs. It was all fun and games until Lora busted that lamp that was our Nannie's."_

" _Oh, yeah! I forgot about that!" I exclaimed, suddenly remembering that white oil lamp. I shivered, visualizing the tongue lashing I had received. "I was grounded for a month after that! How was I supposed to know that the lamp was over one hundred years old? I just wanted to win the world title, and Zoey was a terrible referee."_

" _Oh, don't pawn that off on me," Zoey said with a grunt, smiling despite herself. "I didn't even know I was playing. And if I had, I wouldn't have anyway."_

" _Hence, why you were a terrible referee," Mark noted, placing a soft noogie in her blonde curls. Zoey grimaced and knocked his hand away. We all resumed our quiet stupor once again, consumed with memories of our mother. I could only keep the tears away briefly, before it all just became real again. Moma was never going to walk through the front door again; we were never going to have her cooking again. We were never going to talk to her, hug her or see her smile again. I had to choke back a sob._

" _What are we going to do without her? She was the glue that kept us all together," I whimpered into my hands, which had come up to block my face. I couldn't even blame my raging hormones on the pregnancy, because I knew that it just wasn't true. I would have been distraught, with or without the babies. She was my mother. And now she was gone, and we were left alone._

" _What we've always done. What Mom and Dad would want us to do," Mark said, placing a hand on both his sister's shoulders. He gave us both a tight squeeze, but we saw the broken look on his face. And with a fresh wave of tears pooling in his eyes, he said, "Survive."_

I was pulled back to reality when a little hand landed on my knee. I jumped slightly, brushing the tears that were sliding down my cheeks. Looking over, I saw Keith had left the couch, and come to join me on the bottom stair. He must have heard me crying, and came to check on me. My heart warmed, thinking that he was just like his father. His blue eyes were bright and shining with unshed tears of his own. Keith had been old enough to know that he was never going to see his Grammy again. Tia was still young and didn't really understand. She still asked about her often and it broke my heart. I watched as my son gazed down at the picture in my hands, and hiccupped slightly.

"I miss Grammy, Mommy," he whimpered pitifully. My chin shook violently, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, and pulled him to me tightly. He took his grandmother's death pretty hard. I ran my fingers through his hair as he cried softly on my chest.

"I know, son, I know. I do too," I whispered into his ear. The lump in my throat making it difficult to speak. I pulled away from him, to kneel in front of him, cupping his face in my hands. "But today is her birthday. And I know she is celebrating in Heaven with all of God's angels."

"Today is her birthday?" Keith questioned, his head tilting to side slightly. I nodded at him and he looked over my shoulder, in deep thought. I pressed my lips together tightly, to keep from laughing. He was so grown up sometimes, that it was too funny. But his next words shocked me. "Can we make her a birthday cake?"

Tears clouded my vision in an instant. I sniffed and swallowed hard to loosen up the emotional lump in my throat. I stood up straight, and held my hand out. "I think that would be wonderful."

oo

 **Randy**

I pulled into the driveway, right outside our home. Cutting the engine off of my Escalade, I sat still in the silence. I knew what today was. My mother-in-law's birthday. I knew that it was going to a rough day for my wife. I closed my eyes, leaning my head back against the head rest. The death of Callie Pierce had affected everyone. But no one as hard as Lora. She had been depressed and downright miserable, right up until the birth of the twins.

 _A scream ripped through the air as I was setting the dinner table. My heart fell into my stomach when I heard my wife scream out for me. I dropped everything and ran up the stairs to the new nursery that was just completed._

 _Since the funeral, the only time Lora showed any signs of interest was creating our twins new room. She hadn't even gone back to work yet, which was saying something. Lora loved her job with the creative team, and took it very seriously. Vince, however, was being extremely lenient with her, giving her all the time she needed. Vince knew the pain of losing one's parents, and he sympathized with her. Something for which I was thankful for. I knew that Lora was upset now, but she wouldn't always be. And she would need her work to help her move on when she was ready._

 _I found Lora waddling out of the newest room, one hand on the wall for support, and one around her stomach. I noticed the trail of water she made as she went. Her water had just broke and I knew it was time for the twins to arrive. Even though I had experienced this twice already, it still shocked me to the core. I was about to become a father three times over. Rushing to her side, I helped her steady herself, and we began to make it down the stairs._

" _Randy! Is it time?" I heard a female voice ask me. I looked around the living room, seeing my mother rush to our side. Christmas had just passed, and my mother, seeing how bad Lora was, decided to stay and keep an eye on her, while I had to still make Smackdown appearances. I nodded at her, just as Keith came running in from the backyard, Tia hot on his heels. They were both bundled warmly in coats and gloves, having been playing in the snow. Their little cheeks were red from the cold wind and their gloves were soaking wet from an apparent snowball fight._

" _Daddy, what's wrong with Mommy?" Keith asked in hushed tones. I stared down at him momentarily. He had been so worried about his mother since his Grammy died. He asked me all the time why she was so sad all the time. I didn't really know what to say, besides that she missed her mother. But I smiled warmly down at him, trying to soothe his fears._

" _Nothing's wrong with her, son. She's just ready to have the babies."_

" _BABIES!" Tiegan screamed, clutching at her brother's arm and jumping up and down. Keith's face cleared immediately and started to jump with his sister. I even heard Lora giggle softly, before grunting in pain, and falling against me as her knees gave way. I clutched at her tightly, bringing my full attention back to her._

" _I'll get the kids ready and we'll meet you at the hospital," Mom said, as she began to bustle about the house, grabbing and snatching the kid's things, shoving them into bags. I nodded at her and hurried my wife to the car. She clung tightly to the safety handle on the roof of the SUV, as another contraction hit her like a mack truck. I flew through the streets of St. Louis, winding down the all too familiar road to the hospital. This time, I was just thankful to be here for a joyous reason. I squealed the car to a stop under the awning to the emergency room, as a few nurses came rushing out. Once they saw me getting my very pregnant and obviously in labor wife from the car, they rushed back over with a wheelchair. I quickly left her side to park the car._

 _Once parked, I ran back through the sliding glass doors and to the maternity section of the hospital. I was just about to ask which room Lora had been placed, I heard a scream echo from down the hall. I knew immediately and ran towards the sound. Pushing the door out of my way, I saw that they had Lora laid out on the table, legs up in stirrups with a blanket over her knees. I was at her side in an instant. She looked over at me, clearly comforted that I had made it back to her._

" _Remind me of this moment, the next time we start to have sex," Lora said through clenched teeth, breathing through the pain. I couldn't help but laugh at her and press my face into her hair. She wrapped her hand around mine, lacing our fingers. I didn't flinch when she gripped it tightly. This was the only way I could help her through this, and I would be damned if I let her down. I had made several mistakes in our relationship, some that I will never forgive myself for. And I swore to myself, a promise on her life and our children, that I would never fail her again. A promise that I would die to keep._

" _Alright Lora," Dr. Williams said, sitting up from between my wife's legs, "You're only six centimeters dilated, so we have a little time before you're ready to push. So just get settled down, and try to relax. Would you like me to page the anesthesiologist to set up an epidural?"_

" _What do you think?" Lora barked, sweat beginning to pour down her face. I bit my cheek in amusement and even the good doctor seemed to take humor from her words. But, he refrained from retorting and gave a swift nod and swept from the room._

 _It wasn't another fifteen minutes before another doctor, in dark navy scrubs, came in and set up my wife's pain medicine. Just as he was finished, and Lora sighed in relief, the door opened again, and my mother rushed in, clutching the hands of our other two children. One look told me that they must have stopped off at the gift shop before making the trek to the maternity ward. Both Keith and Tiegan had large balloons on strings, one pink in color and the other blue with pacifiers depicted on the shiny surface. My mother also had two large plush teddy bears, again pink and blue, under her arms. I didn't fight the smile as my children ran up to me, placing their hands on the foot of the bed to see their mother._

" _Babies?" Tia asked, in her little voice, looking around the room trying to find her new siblings. Lora, who was now in a manageable condition once her pain was under control, smiled at her daughter._

" _Not yet baby. But it's getting close," and this time, she barely grimaced when a contraction hit her. Tiegan huffed slightly in annoyance. She wanted to see the new babies terribly. I laughed at her, picking her up at sat her on the foot of the bed, next to Keith, who had managed to climb up on his own._

 _And that's how we spent the next hour and a half, with the kids playing and taking turns on their hand held video games. I watched Lora as she watched her children play quietly. She must have sensed my stare, because she turned her green eyes in my direction. Her hand reached out for me, and moved my chair to the head of the bed, getting as close to her as I could. Her hair was beginning to mat to her head from sweat and her makeup was smudged underneath her eyes, but she was still beautiful to me. My wife. My Lora._

" _We don't even have a name for her yet," she whined, sounding a little disappointed. We had settled on Zackary Tyler for our new son a few weeks ago, but were having trouble with our little girl. Nothing we had thought of seemed right. And Lora wouldn't settle for anything less than perfect. Nor would I. I squeezed her hand slightly in reassurance._

" _It'll be fine. There will be plenty of time for that." She smiled at me and closed her eyes to get a few minutes of rest. I jumped slightly at the sound of the door opening and turned to see our nurse come back in, to check on the patient. She smiled at our children and brought over the sonogram machine, to check the positions of the babies. I saw her face as she began to frown. It was only slightly, but I still noticed, and so did Lora. But I voiced her worries myself. "What's wrong?"_

" _Oh nothing's wrong really," she said, quickly, waving off our fears before we could jump to any conclusions. "But the baby girl isn't turned head down and it is the way of the baby boy, who is."_

 _Before I could ask what that meant, Dr. Williams came back in and the nurse showed him what she had just found. He scratched his chin briefly before turning to give us his full attention. "Well it seems that your little girl doesn't want to cooperate and that poses a little bit of a problem. She should have been turned down by now. And I'm afraid it's going to complicate the natural birth of not only her, but the boy was well."_

" _What does that mean?" Lora asked, panic clearly in her voice. And who could blame her. After everything she has been through in the past year, I didn't know how much more bad news she could handle._

" _Don't start to panic, now Lora. It only means that we'll have to deliver the babies by C-section," Dr. Williams informed us. My heart fluttered slightly that there wasn't anything worse to deal with. I mean, plenty of women have babies through cesarean section. Lora, however, didn't seem as relieved as I. And as my mother was asked to escort Keith and Tiegan out to the waiting room, she clutched at my forearm with a vise grip._

" _I'm scared," she whispered and if I hadn't been staring at her, I wouldn't have known she had said anything. I leaned over her, putting my head against her forehead. She sighed at the touch and wrapped her arms around my neck. I followed behind them as they rolled my wife from the room to take her to the operating room. A nurse stepped in front of me as they pushed Lora through the last set of double doors, informing me that I needed to scrub in before I went any further. I nodded at him and he led me to the stainless steel washroom, adjacent to the operating room. While I soaped up, I watched as they prepped Lora for surgery. A small screen was set up, standing between her chest and rather large bump in her stomach. And as my eyes landed on the tray full of silver instruments, my heart began to pound. It finally hit me like a ton of bricks that they were actually going to slice into my wife, scarring her beautiful skin. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Now was not the time to panic. Lora needed me._

 _After I was properly gowned and gloved, I went to stand at the head of the table, sitting down on a stool they provided for me. I took her hand in mine and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles._

" _I wish my Moma was here," I heard her mumble and I looked at her face to see her staring at the ceiling, as tears rolled down the side of her face and into her hair that was now covered in a surgery cap. With my free hand, I wiped her tears away and left my hand pressed against her head. My heart hurt with her, knowing just how much pain she was in._

" _She is here, baby. She's right here," I said resolutely, and placed her hand over her heart. She choked back a sob and looked over at me with her deep green eyes. She cupped my face lightly, giving me a watery smile._

" _I love you."_

 _I turned my head in her hand and kissed her open palm. But as I opened my mouth to reply, Dr. Williams announced to the room that it was time to begin. It was then that I tuned everything else out below the screen and leaned as close to Lora as I could. She, of course, couldn't feel anything from the chest down, so I knew she was in no pain. But that didn't mean that I wanted to witness her being cut open. I whispered words of love and encouragement into her ears, to distract her from her surroundings. My fingers traced over every curve of her face, and I kissed every part of her that I could reach. I closed my eyes as I rested my head against hers. Until I heard that unmistakable cry. A cry that tugged at my heart._

 _My eyes popped open and immediately met green. Lora was staring right back at me before she looked toward the sheet in front of her. I followed her gaze as one nurse whisked away a bundle of blankets. A few moments later, she returned with one of our babies in her arms._

" _Here's your baby boy," she exclaimed with a broad smile on her face. I couldn't tear my eyes away from my son. He had a mop of shiny brown hair that stuck up in odd places, and his little squishy face was contorted into a scream and his mouth was stretched wide as he complained about being removed from his warm cocoon. The nurse leaned over and let Lora touch our son. I looked down my wonderful wife, seeing her gaze at the new baby. She was crying again, but for a totally different reason. A reason that I knew all too well. For the same reason that my eyes had suddenly gone dusty. But before we could revel in this new life, another cry echoed out into the room. I had almost forgotten that there was another baby that was waiting to see her parents. And as the nurse with our son stepped away, a new one replaced her, with a squirming pink bundle in her arms. Our daughter. She looked just like her brother, with brown hair and she was equally as upset from the sudden change in atmosphere. As I stared upon her face, trying to memorize every little wrinkle, I noticed a change._

 _I looked down at Lora and her eyes were closed. It was then that I heard Dr. Williams barking out orders for lap pads and forceps. My heart stopped, as I heard the words hemorrhage and I knew what that meant._

" _Mr. Orton, we're going to need to step out now please," the nurse that had my son a moment ago spoke to me. I shook my head, but I couldn't get my voice to work. I wouldn't leave her. Not until she was safe._

" _Randy, you have to leave now, so that I can have full attention in trying to stop this bleeding. Go now!" He ordered me. I couldn't move, so two nurses came, took my by the arms and led me from the room. Once outside the double doors, they rushed back into the operating room, leaving me stranded in the hallway. What the hell was going on?_

 _Finally, my legs began to work and I walked as quickly from the operating room as I could. I couldn't stand to be there anymore. Was Lora going to die on me? She couldn't. She just couldn't. I needed her. I heard someone call out my name, and I turned to see John, running up to me, with a smile on his face. Until he saw the state that I was in, and he immediately sobered up._

" _What's happened?" John demanded, as soon as he was by my side. I looked around, and I didn't see anyone else. I didn't what I would tell the children if something happened to their mother. My knees buckled and John reacted in an instant. He clung to my shoulders and helped me onto a bench right behind me._

" _The babies are fine. But Lora," I trailed off, licking my lips to try to gain some moisture in my mouth. What exactly was happening to Lora right now? "She was bleeding, and they're trying to stop it. I don't know what's going on now. They made me leave the room."_

 _John sat down quietly next to me, his arm around my shoulder. Time snailed by, crawling over me as my Lora's life hung in the balance. I leaned forward, propping my elbows on my knees and buried my face in my hands. Scared wasn't even the word for it. I felt like if she died, so would I. After all this time, we were one in the same. Our hearts beating in time with the other. I felt my shoulders begin to shake and I knew that I was crying. It didn't even bother me that I couldn't control them, it didn't bother me that I was blubbering like an idiot in front of John. He was my brother, and he would understand._

" _Mr. Orton." My head shot up at the sound of my name, and I saw Dr. Williams walking towards me. With John's help, I stood and waited to hear the worst. But the good doctor just smiled softly at me. "She's going to be just fine. We were able to stop the bleeding and she is resting comfortably now."_

 _The air I didn't know I was holding in my lungs rushed out as if I was hit in the gut. Relief flooded over me so strong it was as if I was melting from the inside out. Lora was going to live. Slowly, I felt my heart start beating again._

" _There is one thing, however," Williams said, taking a solemn look on his face. My eyebrows came together as I waited to hear the bad news of this good news/bad news situation. "To stop the bleeding, we had to take extreme measures. To save her life, we had to remove her uterus, because it was so badly damaged from the trauma of carrying twins and then the surgery. I am sorry to say, that she won't be able to have any more children."_

It had been a small price to pay for the love of my life that day. A price I would gladly pay again. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. Reaching over to the passenger seat of the car, I grabbed the two balloons and small bouquet of flowers and headed towards the front door.

oo

 **Lora**

Keith stood by my side as I put the last bit of icing on the cake. I handed him the spreading knife and he helped smooth the icing over the last piece of uncovered cake. I heard the sound of a car door slamming shut and I ran to the front door. With a smile on my face, and jerked the door open and saw my husband making his way up the steps. I ran for him, throwing my arms around his throat and kissing him flush on the mouth. He chuckled beneath my lips as he kissed me back.

"You guys are so gross!" Keith exclaimed as he ran towards his father. Randy pulled back, laughing deeply and stared down at his son who was clinging to his leg. I noticed the balloons and flowers Randy had in his hands, but before I could comment on them, another sound met my ears.

"Daddy!" Tia screamed, who had just woken up from her nap and saw her father as she stood at the top of the stairs. And with her scream, she must have startled the twins. Because at that time, cries started to echo through the baby monitor clipped to my jeans. I smiled at Randy and went up the stairs, leaving the three of them to bond.

I entered the twins' room and saw both of them standing up and holding on to the railing. When they saw me, they broke out in identical smiles and held their arms out for me, and said in unison, "Mama!"

"Hello my babies! Did you have a good nap?" I asked them, and they both nodded at me, staring at me impatiently to pick them up. Zack had my green eyes while Mack had her father's blue. But other than that, they really were the perfect mix of their parents. I heaved them both into my arms and looked down at them. "Guess who's here my little ones?"

"Dada?" Zack guessed, and I smiled brightly at him. It had been two weeks that Randy had been on the road. I nodded at him and he squealed in delight, and Mackenzie giggled and clapped her hands together happily. "Dada!"

We slowly made our way downstairs. I didn't want to risk falling with the twins. While they weren't all that heavy, when held together, two sixteen month old babies made walked up and down stairs complicated. I sat them down on the floor when I reached the landing and they ran, with their little pitter patter feet, to find Randy. They didn't have to hunt long, as he was in the kitchen, listening to Keith and Tia jabber about all they have done in the last two weeks.

"What's with the balloons and flowers?" I asked him, as I wrapped my arms around him from behind and laid my head down on his back, listening to his heartbeat. He turned in my arms, just as Keith and Tia began to chase Zack and Mack around the kitchen island cabinet. He placed a soft kiss on my hair before pulling back slightly.

"The flowers are for your mother's birthday and the balloons are for the children, to let go outside and send them to their Grammy," I gaped at Randy's explanation. Fresh emotions rolled over me. Randy had remembered and made a point of making a celebration of sorts out of it. I grabbed his face and placed another hard kiss on his lips. I pulled away before Keith had the chance to complain. Randy looked over my shoulder to the counter. "And what's with the cake?"

"Keith wanted to make a birthday cake for his Grammy," I whispered, thinking about the moment we had earlier in the day. My heart hurt for my oldest son. I looked up to Randy to see he had a strange look on his face. He seemed to be torn between being proud of his son and upset that Keith was hurting. I knew exactly what he was feeling.

We escorted the kids out into the back yard, letting Zackary and Mackenzie run around while we gathered Keith and Tia. I watched as Mackenzie tripped over a twig and stood back up without even fussing. She was just as strong as her name sake was. After all, my mother was one of the strongest women I had ever known. I turned my attention back to scene before me, drying my eyes with the back of my hand. Randy explained what the balloons were for, and handed one to each of them. Tiegan tugged at her string and watched as the balloon jumped from her ministrations. I knelt down behind her, holding her hand in mine. "Now let go, so you can send the balloon to Grammy and wish her a 'Happy Birthday'."

Tia raised her hand with the balloon high in the air, and let her fist open. As she watched the balloon fly up into the air, she screamed out loudly, "Happy birfday, Gammy!"

I chuckled as I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her tight to me. She giggled against me, pulled away and ran after her younger brother and sister. I walked to stand behind Keith next, but he wasn't smiling like Tiegan had been. He was studying the clouds with a very sad expression. As if he knew Grammy was up there, but was upset that he couldn't see her. Finally, he let go of the balloon. He watched it fly and right as it was about to invisible to us anymore, he whispered, "I miss you Grammy."

 **Tears, I know. I didn't want to leave Callie without some resolution. And I also didn't not want to share when the twins were brought into the world!**

 **So there you have it, a new beginning to what I hope will be another story that you guys love. My heart is touched by so many of you, which have stood by me and Lora and Randy from the beginning. Some of you even admitting to rereading my stories! My heart swelled painfully at yalls kind words and I want you know that I appreciate it fully! I love you guys!**

 **As always, don't forget to review!**


	2. Bound For Glory

**So, I spent pretty much the whole day, rewatching Randy spots from the past couple of years today, and let me just tell you, I've got some pretty awesome stuff heading your way! And probably one of the greatest moments I've personally ever had watching the show! EEK! So, hang tight people, it's gonna get bumpy!**

 **Chapter 2-** Bound for Glory

"Hurry Keith! We're going to be late to your ballgame!" I yelled up the stairs as I changed Zack's diaper. It was always an act of God to get everyone in the car. Even with Randy here to lend another pair of hands. I looked down to the floor, where my husband was trying to wrangle his youngest daughter into a pair of bloomers that went underneath her dress. Mackenzie just wouldn't hold still. A trait that she shared with her twin. "Is John going to meet us there?"

"Yeah, and he's going to have Luke with him, since Casie is still out of the country on business," Randy said, letting Mack run off after her brother. I was so proud of Casie and her new career. She had felt like motherhood just wasn't all she was capable of, and after retiring from the company, she had a lot of time on her hands. So, she fell back on an old talent. Painting. And she was quite the artist. I had no idea she was that spectacular, but her abstract work was phenomenal. It didn't take her long, and with the help of some old WWE contacts, to jump start her success. She was currently in London, having her own showcase. A smile crossed my face, but I still missed my friend.

At that moment, Keith came barreling down the stairs, his Easton bag thrown over his shoulder, already in his uniform. Tiegan following a close second after him, in the same matching shirt Randy and I had on, except hers said SISTER on the front. While Randy thought it a little extreme for us all to have matching shirts, I saw a more practical use. For example, if one of the children were to slip from our sight, it was like having "If found, please return to…" on their backs. Together, Randy and I packed the kids up. Randy's Escalade seemed to be the primary choice of transportation these days, because of the third row seating in the back. The twins were harnessed in the very back row. Seeing as Keith was tall enough to be in just a removable booster seat, it was easy to fold his car seat down to get to the back. Once I was sure they were all strapped in, we pulled out.

It only took us twenty minutes to get to the ball park, but another fifteen to strap the twins into the stroller and gather the chairs and bags to make the hall to the very last ball field in the park. Once we came up on it, and Keith saw all the kids in matching black shirts, he took off. I kept my eyes on him as we set up our stuff on the side of the fence where we usually sat. After handing the twins each a sippy cup of water and pulling the shade of their stroller over their face, I turned to see Keith laughing with his best friend on the team. Tom Stanton was an adorable seven year old blonde boy with brown eyes. He was extremely polite but a little star struck when it came to Randy. A fact that made Keith laugh every time Tom fumbled for something to say to his Daddy. Keith just could not see it from Tom's eyes.

"How's the Orton clan doing today?" I heard a familiar voice boom out from behind me. I turned to see John walking up behind us, Luke in his arms, donning his own black shirt in support of Keith. If there was one thing to be said about John, he loved his god kids. I smiled at him, about to open my mouth to reply, before the twins squealed in excitement.

"JAWN!" They hollered towards him, causing John to laugh loudly. He loved their little baby talk. John was nothing if not a big softy when it came to kids. Tia jumped from her Daddy's arms to run to see little Luke as he was placed on the gravel beside the stroller. I kept my eyes on them as they began to fish through Tiegan's bag for the Capris Sun's I had packed.

"We're doing alright, thank you, now that we actually made it," I giggled and settled back into my chair as the kids on the field lined up to begin the game. John opened his own chair on the other side of Randy and immediately fell into conversation with him about the happenings behind stage on Raw. I shook my head in amusement as the sound of scuffling stones caught my attention. I turned to see a tall blonde woman, not much older than myself, whose hair hung in loose curls down her back. I knew her instantly. "Ginny! Hey girl!"

Genevieve Stanton, Tom's mother, had to be one of the sweetest women I had ever met. And just absolutely beautiful. Like the kind of beautiful that almost makes you want to hate her for it. Her features were just as elegant as her name. She smiled brightly at me, sitting down in her own chair. Since both of our sons had become close, it only made since for us to get along as well. If Keith wasn't spending the night at her house, Tom was at ours almost every weekend.

"Mom!" Both Ginny and I turned at the term, to see both of our children staring at us through the chain link fence. But it was Tom that called out to his mother, with Keith only playing tag-a-long. "Do you have my bat weight? It's not in my bag!"

"No son," Genevieve said, shaking her head softly, "if it's not there, then you must have left it at home. I did tell you to check your bag before we left the house."

"Dude, don't worry!" Keith exclaimed, playfully slapping Tom's shoulder. "I've got two, you can borrow one!" And with that, they both ran back off to the dugout. Ginny and I shared a look and began to laugh at our children.

"Honestly, Lora," she said as she regained herself and looked between the dugout and the other three children around me, "I don't know how you do it. I barely manage one, and you have four to contend with."

"Well, five if you want to get technical," I staged whispered, making sure that Randy did indeed hear me. I heard mock gasp from his direction, informing me my jab was received. I sent him a quick air kiss before turning back to the blonde on my left. "It's not easy, but I put the older ones to work just as soon as they can start to follow orders."

"That's pretty much against every child welfare work clause, you know that right?" John said, leaning over slightly to get into our conversation. I rolled my eyes at him, knowing he couldn't see it through my sunglasses. Genevieve and Randy chuckled at this, as John stuck his hand out for Ginny to shake. I felt momentarily guilty that I hadn't already introduced them. "Name's John, by the way, since Lora here has forgotten her manners."

"Oh, yeah, I already know," Ginny said, laughing at me when I stuck my tongue out at John in a very immature way. John gave her a curious look at her acknowledgement, and she waved her hand in the air delicately. "Tom didn't shut up for a week after he had met the 'John Cena' at Keith's house. And my name's Genevieve, but mostly everyone calls me Ginny."

"And by everyone, she means me," I smiled, patting my friend on the back, smirking softly at her. "Mainly because it's a name of a character from Harry Potter."

That earned two eye rolls from both John and Randy, to which I responded with slaps to the backs of their heads. I didn't care how big anyone was, or how strong they were; no one talked crap about Harry Potter around me.

oo

"Okay, so I'm gonna be Thor, and you can be the Black Widow!" I heard Keith telling Tia, as I passed the playroom once the twins were down for a nap. I stopped to peek in on my two children, plus Tom. Keith had a red towel tied around his neck and Tom had a green one. I could only assume that Tom was the evil super villain brother of the tiny little demi-god with red hair, Loki. Keith and Tom both were absolutely obsessed with the Avengers movie, not to mention the independent side movies of each super hero. My son was the average red-blooded American boy who just worshipped these comics. I saw Keith swing his little toy hammer around. However, Tia stomped her foot.

"I don' wanna be a spider! I wanna be Ariel!" she pouted, clinging to a stuffed yellow fish with blue stripes. I laughed softly, watching both Keith and Tom groan in slight frustration. Keith heard me and ran to me, patting me on the leg.

"Mommy, tell Tia she can't be Ariel, there aren't any mermaids in the Avengers!" I laughed harder looking down at my son. I let him tug me into the room to get me to explain it to her. I knelt down in front of her, getting at her eye level.

"Tia, baby, why wouldn't you want to be the Black Widow? You know it's not a spider, but a beautiful and strong woman that can kick butt just like the girls you see on Daddy's show?" I explained, trying to implore to her that being a girl didn't always mean being flouncy and bubbly. I wanted Tiegan to grow up to be a strong and independent woman, and what better role model for her? I reached over and rummaged through the toy chest and picked up a plastic red glove with a circle of light in the palm. "Look, I'll even play along."

"What are you guys doing?" I jumped slightly at Randy's entrance and turned to see him leaning against the doorway. I slipped the glove on and stood up. Taking a stance with my feet apart, I aimed the 'laser beam' at my husband.

"'Shakespeare in the park?'" I quoted, referring to the DVD I had probably seen as many times as Frozen. I had to admit it, even to myself; I loved it just as much as Keith did. Albeit, I doubt Keith sees the value of having a cast of super sexy super heroes, and villains, as much as I. Randy smirked at me and Keith busted out laughing at my antics. I turned to him, and plucked lightly at his red towel. "'Doth mother know, you weareth her drapes?'"

"'I am Loki! Of Asgard!'" Tom shouted, aiming what he pretended to be a scepter, but was really on old plastic pirate sword at me. I jumped backwards from him, aiming my glove back in his direction. I made the charge up sound that the Iron Man makes with my mouth, and struck another protective stance. "And I am burdened with glorious purpose!"

"'Make your move, reindeer games!'" I warned him. I 'shot' a beam of light towards him, making the noise with my mouth. I looked down and nodded towards Keith, who began to swing his little hammer again, before chasing Tom around the room. Tia, seeing how much fun I had had, decided to join them, and trotted along after them. I watched for a few more minutes, before pulling off the glove and slipping from the room.

"If I didn't know any better," Randy started, slipping his arm around my waist as we headed down the stairs, "I'd said you were more obsessed with said heroes than our son."

"If you knew any better," I stuck my tongue out at him. "Besides, I'm pulling for Loki more than any of them. There's just something about a dangerously mysterious guy, who's mischievous and wicked and always has to have his way."

"Sounds sort of familiar. In that case," Randy murmured as we reached the bottom of the stairs and pulled me close to him. He leaned back against the wall and tightened his arms around my waist. I smiled coyly up at him, glad to see that he got the correlation of my words. When he spoke next, he let his eyes go a dark stormy blue and dropped his voice low, "'In the end, you will always kneel.'"

I shivered against him, getting his double entendre. I was just about to retort when I heard laughing coming from the kitchen. I pulled sharply away from the enticing embrace of my husband, nearly forgetting we had house guests. John's voice floated out of the archway, "If they start talking about 'mewling quims', I'm outta here."

I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing as Randy look my hand and led me into the kitchen. I saw Genevieve and John sitting around the kitchen island having a drink; a red wine for Ginny and a beer for John. As Randy passed behind him, he slapped the back of his hand against John's head. Both Ginny and I openly laughed at that. "You need to watch your language in front of ladies."

"Oh please, this isn't nothing," Genevieve said, laughter still on her face, waving her hand in appreciation towards Randy. A faraway look came over her, but she still looked on brightly. "My husband and his best friends were just like this. It's nothing that I'm not accustomed too."

"If you don't mind me asking, what does your husband do?" John asked. Silence fell over to room as Randy and I exchanged a glance before averting our eyes. Ginny chewed on the inside of her cheek and cast her gaze to her full glass of wine. I hadn't even thought about warning John not to mention anything. John seemed to understand the change in the atmosphere and quickly back peddled. "Unless that was totally rude and inappropriate, in which case, l apologize."

"No! No, no, don't apologize!" Ginny gushed, finally coming back to her senses and pulling herself back together. Her green eyes shined just a little brighter than they did before. "My husband, Thomas Stanton, was in the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, airborne wing. His plane was shot down and he was killed in action a year and a half ago while on a mission in Afghanistan."

John looked as if he wanted the Earth to open up and swallow him whole. His face was of contrition and he stood to his feet and walked around the island to stand in front of Genevieve. John had always admired to strength and will of our American armed forces, along with the rest of the WWE. Swallowing hard, he held his hand out for the lovely blonde woman to shake. When she slipped her hand in his, he used his other hand to cup her drastically smaller and more delicate one. "I am truly sorry for your loss. But let me thank you, for your husband's service and sacrifice. We are all in a debt to both you and him."

Ginny sniffed and used her free hand to wipe away the lone tear that was sliding down her cheek. I walked slowly around Randy, taking my glass of wine from him and slipping my hand in his, lacing our fingers together. The tension in the room was thick, but not uncomfortable. No one really knew what to say or do after John's little speech. But leave it to my kids to cause a distraction. I heard bubbling laughter getting louder and Keith and Tom ran into the room, screaming at us to run. I turned just in time to see Tiegan wobble through the room with two massive green fists on her hands. A smile broke out on my face.

"Hulk smash puny boys!" she screeched, trying to run after her brother. It was quite difficult for her, because she weighed not that much different from the two heavy rubber gloves she was trying to tote around. All four adults cracked under the cuteness that was my daughter, and began to laugh. I did see John look at little Tom differently; with a sad sort of look that I understood to be a mixture of sorrow and empathy.

oo

" _So, Lora, back to you,"_ Stephanie's voice came through the computer I had sitting on the kitchen table. I could see her, but also the rest of the creative team sitting around that oval table in Stanford. I had my notes and papers scattered around me, scribbling down everything that I needed to from the meeting we were having. _"Have you given any more thought to where we should take 'The Authority'?"_

In the past few months, a story line that I had created was building to new heights each and every week. With a heel Triple H and Stephanie at the helm. The group consisted of the two of them, Kane and the Big Show. They were currently in a feud with another creation of mine with three boys from NXT. Randy had laughed hard when I first pitched "S.H.I.E.L.D.", because he knew where that inspiration had come from. I had to fight my eye roll at the memory, because I knew that I was being projected on a large screen in the room thousands of miles away from me.

"Yes, actually, I have. I would sort of like to see Randy continue on with his heel run as well, and join up with 'The Authority', along with bringing someone else back," I began, fishing through my papers, to find the section I needed. "I took the liberty of already contacting Dave Bautista to see if he would be willing to do a short 'Evolution' reunion with Randy and Paul."

" _I highly doubt that he'll accept those terms, he left on sort of a sour note,"_ I heard Pat Patterson say. I could see every face in the room right now, but I met my eyes with Paul. I could see the gleam there. Paul could always be counted on to see emotion through his eyes, so I always gauged my pitches through them. I knew when I said 'Evolution', he was already on board. Smiling to myself, I forced a reply to Pat.

"He'll agree to any terms you throw at him, because he has that new movie of his to promote," I retorted, making it clear that I had already discussed this with Dave. And that was one hell of a phone conversation. Dave has never been a huge fan of mine, nor was I of him. To say that he was shocked to receive a phone call from me was nothing compared to finding out my current job position and that I was offering him some publicity. "And if you agree to this story line, he's agreed to fly out to Stanford to sign his deal."

Chuckling met my ear from both inside the house and through the computer speakers. I cut my eyes to see Randy leaning against the archway. That man made leaning so sexy. I smirked at him before returning my attention back to the screen to see Paul laughing and rubbing his chin. _"I quite like the sound of that. But who would we, or 'Evolution', go up against?"_

"S.H.I.E.L.D., of course, which would lead to some major stable fluctuations down the road, but I haven't hammered out all the details to that just yet," I mused, scribbling down any idea that just flitted across my brain. I really and truly loved my job. I got to play the puppet master and it was just thrilling. Now, I knew why Stephanie was always in a good mood. If she ever got angry, she just made people beat the hell out of each other. It was such a stress reliever.

" _Alright, have Dave call us, and we'll get everything straightened out and begin scripting it for next Monday,"_ Vince's voice came through, and even his disembodied voice had that authoritative power to it. Whatever Vince wanted, he got. No questions. _"Oh, and Lora. With Survivor Series two months after Summerslam, I'm going to need you to come up with some epic and huge crowd draw. We're down in the Network sales, and we're going to need some huge draw to get people to purchase it. I leave you full reign to pull out any stops that you deem necessary."_

"Yes sir!" I agreed eagerly. I rarely had free reign over everything. I usually had my set number of wrestlers to write for. After the meeting was called to a close, I shut the screen of the laptop and sat silently in my chair. I was positively giddy at the thoughts running through my head. I felt like Mr. Burns, from the cartoon 'The Simpsons', with my fingers tips on each hand tapping together. "Excellent."

"You know some times," Randy said, coming up behind me as he leaned down to rest his chin on my shoulder, grasping my upper arms with his hands, "I feel like I've rubbed off on you too much."

I stood from my seat suddenly, to turn around to face him. I knew it was late in the evening and miraculously all the kids were asleep. I snaked my arms around his waist and pulled him roughly towards me. His huff of air that left his lips brushed across my face, blowing some stray hairs away. His arms came around me as I crushed my lips to his. I was on such a high right now, that the only thing I wanted was to feel my husband. To run my fingers over his flesh, to get him into our bedroom. Randy seemed to have the same idea as he lifted me up with the ease of a seasoned wrestler, and I took my cue to lock my ankles around his back.

Randy's arousal for me apparent, even through his jeans as he climbed the stairs to our room. I moved my hips against his, earning a deep growl from his throat. I giggled against his lips as I moved to lick and nip my teeth against the skin below his jaw. I heard a door click shut and a lock moving into place. The last thing either one of us wanted was to be caught by the children. Before I could think, I was bounced onto the bed when Randy lightly tossed me down. I didn't let too much separation happen, keeping a tight hold on his shirt, pulling him over me. I moaned into his mouth when his fingers started to slide up my shirt.

I found the hem of his cotton t-shirt and yanked roughly. He obliged by pulling back a little, allowing me to tug it over his shoulders and I threw it to the ground. Randy returned to hover over me as I ran my nails down his back, softly digging into his flesh. I saw his eyes flutter at the feeling and I smiled wickedly. I still got drunk on the fact that I could make his eyes roll even after six years and four children. But as my hands wandered down to the button of his jeans, he stopped me. Taking both of my hands in his, he pulled them up to touch the headboard. "Don't move your hands."

The order coming from Randy sent shivers down my spine. His commands did extremely sinful things to my body. Trying my hardest, I flattened my palms against the padded headboard and watched as Randy sat back against the haunches of his legs, straddling my hips. He let his hands slip under my shirt again, but this time made quick work of the material. Randy only pulled it up enough to rest above my chest, leaving it completely bare. My back arched off the mattress as he leaned forward to taste me, flicking his tongue softly over the taut and sensitive skin. And when he was done with one breast, his hand replaced his tongue and he moved on to the next, showing it just the same amount of attention. His knee was pressing hard at the apex of my thighs, grinding into me slowly. Stars began to pop up in front of my eyes.

Randy sensed my escalation and pulled all his attention away from me. My eyes popped open and pouted at him. He chuckled darkly as he slithered further down my body, slowly dragging his fingertips over any exposed skin he could see. My hips bucked slightly when I felt his fingers dip into the elastic of my cotton shorts. "Randy, please."

He just looked back up at me, as he slowly pulled my shorts and panties down in one go. My whole body quivered and ached for him. I needed him in the worst way. He massaged his way back up my legs, letting his breath tickle my flesh that was on fire. I watched as his face hovered over my center, dangerously close to where my eyes begged him to be. His eyes met mine, and an eyebrow arched in my direction as he dipped his head. I couldn't help it; I moaned loudly and moved my hands to rest against his head, trying to urge him on. His reaction was instant, and he pulled away. "Hands to the headboard, Lora."

I grunted in frustration, but I was so far gone in my lust that I could only obey him. Once my hands were back against the headboard, he went back to me. My eyes clamped shut his hot tongue swept over me. He lifted one of my legs and draped it down over his shoulder, so that he could curl his hand around my thigh and bring me closer to his waiting mouth. My chest heaved rapidly as his tongue swirled around me and I almost fell into the abyss when he slipped in two fingers, to aid the ministrations of his tongue. I felt my nails scrape against the soft leather above me and I wanted desperately to push on Randy's head, to show him exactly what I needed. But he was so attuned to me after all these years, there was no guess work. His rhythms varied in speed, according to my reactions, and he made a 'come hither' motion with his fingers inside me. I cried out for him when I could take no more, and he flattened his tongue against me roughly and added a third finger. And fireworks exploded all around me.

I didn't have any time, though, to bask in these feelings before Randy was hovering above me again. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I wondered when Randy had shed his jeans, but there he was fully naked lying on top of me. With a small adjustment, he thrust hard into me, sinking all the way to the hilt. I groaned at the sudden intrusion, but it was most certainly welcome. Randy reached up and finally freed me completely of my shirt and tossed to who knew where in the room. I took that as my opportunity to wrap my arms around his shoulders and one of his hands grabbed a handful of my hair and he kissed me desperately.

I wrapped my legs around his thrusting hips, meeting them with a thrust of my own. My previous climax seemed to aid in the building of this new one, as Randy created the delicious friction I so hungrily needed. I could feel him grow within me, but I also knew that he was trying to hold back for my sake, until I fell under first. Always so chivalrous, I smiled to myself. "R-Randy, please. More."

As ever, the sound of his name on my lips did wicked things to him. I felt a strong hand at the small of my back as he lifted me slightly, to reach a deeper angle. That was exactly what I needed and with a few more thrusts, I was lost in Randy and I felt my fingernails dig harshly into the skin of his upper arms. Once I cried out his name one last time, I felt him spill inside, joining me in the lustful bliss that we created together. His head rested into the crook of my neck as he grunted in pleasure. I clung to him as he collapsed on top of me. One would think that his weight would crush me and cause discomfort. But to me, it was quite the opposite. I reveled in the pressure as I could feel his heart race in time with mine. I could feel his breath hitting my neck in puffs as he tried to regain his control.

Slowly, he rolled over to my side, pulling me with him. I curled into his side, laying my head down on his sweaty chest and let my fingers draw delicate designs on his skin. Randy's own hands trailed lightly up and down my spine lovingly. His next words had me smiling against his chest.

"I always do get what I want."

 **So, what do you guys think of this chapter? Steamy, huh? =D I've been reading quite a lot of some Loki(movie version) fan fiction lately and was inspired to create an especially hot scene from some of the stories I've read. and I just had to add the Avengers/Loki stuff. It's been quite the new obsession of mine, Loki. Mmm, all thanks to that sexy Tom Hiddletston making him so irresistible! Who else agrees? Lol and guys, please don't forget to review! I absolutely love to hear from all of you!**

 **Thanks to** _ **kimberly316, KarlishaCullen, RKOsgirl92 and Chermayne**_ **who reviewed the last chapter! I love you guys!**


	3. Handle With Care

**Chapter 3-** Handle with Care

"Mommy," a little voice spoke out into the darkness of the night. I jumped suddenly, switching on the lamp on the nightstand. A quick glance at the clock told me it was a little after three in the morning. I turned bleary eyes to see Tiegan, standing pitifully beside the bed. The front of her mermaid pajamas covered in what looked like vomit. "I don' feel good. My tummy hurt."

I groaned and reached over to push at Randy's shoulder, shaking him from his deep sleep. He grunted roughly before cracking an eye to look at me. He shielded his eyes from the intrusion of the lamp light to look from me to our daughter. After he took in her appearance, he sat up, letting the sheet pool around his waist. I quickly pulled my hair into a pony tail with the elastic around my wrist. "Looks like Tia caught the twins' virus."

"Babe," Randy said, crawling over the bed to reach his daughter. Tia was ashen-faced and her little bottom lip pouted out. I asked him to change her clothes while I went to inspect her bed. As I had expected, her sheets were soiled and she had managed to leave a trail to the door. Trying to hold back my own aversion to the mess, I quickly stripped her bed and cleaned up the sick. I met Randy in the hall and took the dirty pajamas from him and toted the linen to the laundry room, throwing everything into the washing machine.

I was hoping to keep the other two children from catching whatever the twins' caught at their daycare. They had both been sickly and puny for a few days now, and we thought we were in the clear. Zack and Mackenzie hadn't even left their room for long and Keith and Tiegan were told not to go around them. I grabbed a new can of disinfectant spray that had been attached to my hand like an extension of my limb and sprayed myself and kept my finger on the nozzle the whole way back up the stairs and into Tia's room.

Randy had already gotten Tiegan back into bed, but it looked like I wasn't getting my husband back for the night. He had crawled into her bed and cuddled her gently to his chest. I smiled at him and left the room. I went back into our bedroom, and snuggled back underneath the covers, trying to get a few more hours of sleep before the dawn. For which the twins' would be up and screaming. As I drifted off to sleep again, I made a mental note to try to make arrangements to get Keith out of the house before he could catch anything.

It felt like I had just closed my eyes before a shrill cry echoed from the plastic monitor on the nightstand. I groaned, pushing myself off the mattress again. Receiving a shock, I saw it was nearly six in the morning. How in the hell had three hours passed in a blink of an eye? Despite my aching body, I forced myself out of the bedroom and down the hall to check on my sick children. I knew as soon as I opened the door I was in for a nasty surprise. Sure enough, it took a good twenty minutes to get Zackary and Mackenzie cleaned up and changed into new diapers and fresh clothes. I left them in their cribs and headed back out to fix them a couple of bottles of juice. I popped my head in on Tia as I went. Randy was still asleep in the small bed, contorted into a pretzel around his daughter's sleeping form. I smiled sleepily and left them to it.

Once down stairs, I sent a quick text to John to see if Keith could stay a few days with him while he was home on a short stay. Casie was due back any day now, but when she was gone, John tried to spend as much time with his son as possible. Neither one of them liked Luke to be left without both parents very often. Keith came bounding down the stairs as I screwed the lid tight on Mack's bottle. "Hey buddy! How would you like to spend a few days with Uncle John? Tia has gotten sick from the twins', and you really don't need to miss any games this season."

"Yea! I love being at Uncle John's!" was Keith's response. I smiled at my one healthy son and told him to grab a pack of Pop Tarts and a banana and sit at the kitchen table. He nodded and obeyed quickly, grabbing my iPad and began to watch cartoons with it. I ruffled his hair as I passed him to deliver two bottles of Pedialyte. The twins' were easily settled with their bottles and I popped in a DVD for them on their TV. After checking their temperatures, it was safe to say they were on the road to recovery, but still border-lined sick. Both at a steady ninety-nine point four. I sighed and left the room with the monitor clipped to my pajama pants. Before I could make it back to the stairs, a voice called out to me.

"Lora?" Randy's voice floated out from Tiegan's room. I knew that tone, and I dreaded it dearly. My stomach fell out of my body as I turned around. I loved my husband very much; I think that I have proven that time and time again. But there were only a handful of traits about him that I feared. Sick, being the main one. I poked my head in the door and grimaced at what I found. Of course, there was Tia, just beginning to wake up, rubbing her eyes. Her little cheeks were flushed from her fever and her nose dripped like a facet that was left barely open. But behind her, was Randy. My fearsome, two hundred and forty-five pound Apex predator of a husband looking as if he was about to die. I fought to roll my eyes at the look of utter helplessness. Sure, he could go toe to toe with Mick Foley in a No Holds Barred match and fall onto over a thousand thumb tacks, but let him get even the slightest bit sick, and he was nothing more than a five year old boy. "I think I'm dying."

"Well, you shouldn't have slept in the room with Tia," I grumbled, pulling the collar of my shirt over my nose and made my way towards the bed. I couldn't risk having both adults being sick. I took Tia's temperature first. It was spiking over a hundred, poor baby. Then I moved to Randy. He pouted at me, and I arched an eyebrow towards him. He did indeed have a temperature rivaling Tiegan's. I sighed, "Take her to our room and y'all both lay down in there. Is there anything I can get you?"

"Soup?" Tiegan asked, even though it was before seven in the morning. I smiled down at Tia, knowing she couldn't see me through my shirt. I nodded and left the room, spraying the bottle of disinfectant that I had picked up behind me. I found Keith in the living room, setting up one of his video games in the living room and left my self-sufficient son to go about his business. I grabbed my phone off the counter to call John.

"Hey man, I know you're already doing me a favor with Keith, but I need to ask another?" I began, grabbing a large can of chicken noodle soup from the cabinet. I popped the pull tab and poured the contents in a pot on the stove. "Tia got Randy sick last night, and now it's just me to fight the Walking Dead around here. Is there any possible way you could come here to get Keith? I'll loan you his booster seat."

" _Oh no! Randy's sick too? Oh I so don't wish to be in your shoes,"_ John laughed through the phone. And even though he couldn't see me, I scowled at him while I stirred the pot of soup. Apparently it wasn't a secret of Randy's pitifulness upon illness. _"Sure thing Lo. I'll be over there in about an hour. Let me get Luke up and at 'em."_

I thanked him, and threw the phone down on the kitchen counter. Bringing out a tray table, I placed two bowls down, and fixed Randy some orange juice and Tia her own sippy cup of Pedialyte. Once I ladled soup into both bowls, I carefully trekked back up the stairs for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. My thighs would look killer if I kept this up. Randy was nowhere to be seen in the bedroom, but Tiegan was curled up on my side of the bed, just her head showing from out under the covers. An early morning cartoon playing on our TV. Before I could ask my daughter where her father was, I heard him in the bathroom. Rather, I heard him getting rather familiar with a porcelain bowl. I sighed again and sat the tray down on the high dresser and made for the door in front of me.

I did my best to be sympathetic, because, bless his heart, Randy had stuck by me through many bouts of sickness. I grabbed a wash cloth from the linen closet and ran warm water over it and stood behind him, rubbing down his forehead. Once it seemed this certain wave had passed, I heaved and pulled him back to the bed. Randy crawled under the blankets and mimicked his daughter. Pursing my lips, I fetched them their food. I placed the tray on Randy's side table, and carried Tia's bowl over to her.

"It's still hot," he complained when he took a spoonful too quickly without checking it first. My hand froze with a spoonful of noodles for Tia to eat and I looked over at him. Arching a brow at him, I blew on Tiegan's bite, feeding it to her. He seemed to get my hostility and looked sheepishly away. "Never mind, it'll be fine."

I rolled my eyes at him. I knew the next few days were going to be bad for Randy and the kids, but also, this was going to be hell on Earth for me.

oo

Three days passed, and by the grace of God, everyone in the house was virus free. And by some miracle, I had managed to steer clear of it. Not that I saw how, because Randy had me doing everything for him. If the man had had a bell, he would have been even more insufferable. But, as terrible as it was for me, I was glad to have my healthy household back. Especially my husband. I was in need of, not just a spa day, but a spa week after playing nurse and running the house single-handedly. Sitting in the living room, I tapped furiously on the keys of my laptop, finishing a few touches of my new story line while the news played on the big flat screen in front of me. I barely caught breaking news of a plane going down somewhere over West Virginia.

"Finishing things for Summerslam?" Randy asked, plopping down on the couch next to me. He bent his bead down to kiss my temple softly. I smiled softly at him and nodded. I was super excited about the pay-per-view coming up in two days. I had kept everything hush-hush, but it was well known that one of the members of S.H.I.E.L.D. was going to turn heel and cause the match between them and the reunited Evolution.

The crowd took well to the reunion of the three legends, even if it was to hope that Batista would get pummeled by Roman Reigns. Dave Bautista had been gone from the WWE for years, and had thought that his return would have been welcomed as a face. But I had no intentions of that. Since he had no long-term plans, he was only here to do a short stint just to get the Universe good and riled up. All in all, he couldn't really complain. It did give him the needed publicity for his superhero movie he was in. No, Batista would be gone again once Summerslam was over. I had much bigger fish to fry.

I had something cooking in my brain that not even Randy knew about. I couldn't risk him knowing. I knew how the gossip chain worked in the locker room and backstage. And say what he liked, Randy was one of the biggest gossips. No, this was too big to not take all the precautions I could. I checked the time on the computer, knowing just any time we would have house guests. I was wary of how Randy would behave, but that didn't deter me. And as if on cue, the doorbell rang. I jumped up before Randy could even move.

"Hi Paul, thank you for coming," I said and opened the door to let Paul Heyman in to my home. I heard Randy following me, probably thinking a totally different Paul was coming inside. He stopped short when he saw the squat, heavyset bald man in a suit and tie swaggering through the front hall. His glare roamed over, not just Paul, but the man behind him. The term man being used loosely for the six foot three, two hundred and eighty-six pound beast, Brock Lesnar. Even I had to admit, if not just a little bit, that he intimidated me. This was saying something, because I had been surrounded by mountain-like men since I started in this business.

"Lora, what are they doing here?" I could hear the distrust and disdain in his voice as he came to stand right behind me. I rolled my eyes at him. As if Brock was going to start destroying the house? I stepped away from him and placed a palm flat on his chest, hoping to calm him.

"I invited them here. Its business," I warned him, giving him a hard look. Randy knew better than to cross me when it came to my job. Mainly because he had absolute trust in me to do what I thought best. I ushered them in and closed the door behind Brock. He didn't really look like he wanted to be here, but he didn't look testy either. Just neutrally uninterested. Neither one of them knew why I had asked them here, just on my word that I would make it worth their trip. "Can you please look after the kids while we go to your weight room downstairs to talk? Please?"

Randy didn't seem to want to leave me alone with them. And who could blame him? Brock, if so willing, could chew me up and spit me out. But he had no reason to be hostile with me. Hell, he may even like me after this meeting. Finally, Randy huffed and stalked back towards the living room. I motioned for the two gentleman to follow me through a door in the kitchen. Once we were downstairs, I settled down on one end of a brown leather couch, and Paul sat on the other. I didn't fail to notice that Brock chose to stand.

Paul Heyman met my eye with one of famous greasy grins and asked, "Are you now going to tell us what was so important you wanted us both here?"

"Yes Paul, I am. But if you'll bear with me, I need to explain the situation first," I huffed out over his arrogance. Mr. Heyman needed to know who was in charge of this meeting. I shifted on the couch, turning to face Paul and I pulled one leg underneath me. "I want to give Brock something, in an exchange for a favor from you."

Brock turned his steely blue gaze to me when I said his name, clearly intrigued now. I bit back my smile that now I had both men hanging on to my words. I really did thrive in this job, as puppet-master. The power was a head rush. Paul cleared his throat and I turned my gaze back to him. "And on whose authority do you make such offers?"

"I have been given free reign to develop storylines as I see fit," I spoke clearly and confidently. I had to. One slip of confidence or high ground, and Heyman would strike. I knew all too well his shark-like tendencies. It was what kept him famous.

"Must be nice to have a last name get you favor," Brock spoke for the first time. I saw Paul's beady eyes shoot him a warning glance, but Brock didn't seem to care. I arched an eyebrow in his direction and scoffed at him.

"That's rich, coming from you, a man who can jump between WWE and the UFC without so much as a power play," I challenged, holding my head up a little higher, jutting my chin out a little. His eyes widen just the slightest in shock, but I wasn't finished. "And while I admit, being Randy's wife has earned me a little leeway here and there; _my_ name has earned me the respect that I receive. I am not defined by my husband. Only complemented."

Brock looked like he wanted to retort, but thought better of it. Possibly because his own wife wouldn't care to be known only as the wife of the Beast Incarnate. Not when she was one of the most famous Divas of all time, Sable. When I was sure that he was going to keep quiet, I continued.

"Now, what we're about to discuss does not leave this room," I warned, staring them both down. Paul made a juvenile gesture of crossing his heart and Brock just turned to stare in the opposite direction. I rolled my eyes at him. "This Sunday, I'm writing Seth Rollins as traitor to S.H.I.E.L.D. and joining the Authority. He will soon be made WWE world heavyweight champion. Later in the night, Seth will cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase against the winner of the championship match; securing supreme rule by Triple H and Stephanie. Which is going to push the Authority to an even more intolerable level for the fans. Vince told me that he wanted me to pull out all the stops to bring up sales in the Network."

"This is all well and good, but where does my client come into play?" Paul cut across me. I pursed my lips at him, irritated at being interrupted again.

"I have two stops that I'm pulling that nobody will expect. First, I'm going to make Brock WWE champion."

Brock's head snapped towards me at my words, mouth only slightly ajar. Paul looked as if he hadn't heard me correctly. "Excuse me, but I find it hard to believe that Vince would ever allow that. I had to do some of my best dealing to get him to be able to break Calloway's streak. I'm not sure you have that authority."

"Believe me, I do," I responded heatedly. I had never once led the creative team down a path that wasn't entertaining and rating worthy. "Vince will be so busy singing my praises that he won't even blink at this action, once my second stop is pulled. This is where your favor comes in Paul. I can't ask anyone at headquarters, because what I'm doing isn't known to anyone. I want it to happen on live TV before it can be shut down. So, I'm going to need Steve's number from you."

"Steve," Paul scoffed, laughing in a very weasel way, "Austin? You seriously think bringing Austin back will earn enough Network money to get my client the title?"

"No, that's not the Steve I'm referring too," I waved my hands impatiently around. My heart stuttered slightly and raced; this was the first time I was going to be voicing this to another living soul. And I couldn't help but to start to get excited about it. "While Stone Cold could give the sales a pop, it's not like we don't hear enough from him with his podcasts. I'm talking about Steve Borden."

The silence was deadening, pressing roughly against my ears. Paul's mouth actually made a small popping noise when his jaw fell open. Even Brock looked like he gave a shit. Which was saying something, when his go-to appearance was insolent boredom. " _Sting?_ "

"Yes, Sting. A man that the WWE fans have asked for, _begged_ _for_ , for over fourteen years; since the fall of WCW. I need you to get me in touch with him, because I want him to take on the Authority. Mainly, the COO, Triple H," and there it was. My secret, devious plan, laid out to the most secret and devious man in the business. "If you can secure this for me, then this Monday after Summerslam, you can go on Raw and announce Brock as the number one contender."

"If this is some kind of joke, I'll have you wrapped up in so much red tape, you'll drown in it. Vince pretty much told Brock over a decade ago that he would never be the champion again," Paul threatened, his eyes narrowing in my direction. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Brock shift testily from one foot to the other. I smiled pleasantly back at them.

"Do you really think I would waste your time by dragging you into my home if I couldn't attain such promises?" I said sweetly, laying on my southern accent a little. "I'm not like the rest of creative, you see. I don't answer to them, not any more. I've worked hard to get to where I'm at. I am not a 'yes man' for them, nor am I in their pocket."

Paul looked at me with a hard look, as if trying to discern the truth in my words. Finally, he nodded with the beginnings of a smile on his pudgy face. Brock even looked pleased; at least I think he did. Heyman dug his phone out of his jacket chest pocket and scrolled through his contacts. I watched as he scribbled nine numbers down on a scrap piece of paper. My heart was beating a mile a minute. Paul handed me the paper, his eyes alight with mirth, "A pleasure doing business with you, Mrs. Orton."

"Oh, and Paul," I said as they walked to the door that led upstairs. I stood up, and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear unassumingly. "Next time, before you threaten me, I suggest you do your homework. I have a very short fuse for men with an ego problem. Why don't you call Jake Hager or Wade Barrett and ask them? Or, better yet, just go upstairs and ask my husband."

Paul looked stunned slightly, but Brock actually smiled. And not like he was a starving bear ready to rip my throat out. He was genuinely humored by me. He slapped Paul on the back and started to push him through the door and turned back towards me. "You were not what we were expecting. And I'm glad."

And he followed Paul Heyman up the stairs, closing the door behind him. I didn't know if I should have been insulted and pleased. But, coming from Brock, that was probably the best compliment I would receive. I heard the faint sound of the front door closing, and within seconds, Randy was in the weight room with me.

"Care to explain why you asked them to come to our home and not meet with them at headquarters? With witnesses?" Randy mused, leaning against his treadmill in the corner. I smirked at him as I programmed the number in my phone under the name 'Icon'. I couldn't risk Randy trolling through my contacts.

"Oh please Randy. I've been in this business long enough to handle myself. Besides, I don't rightly think that Sable would be too happy to hear that her husband roughed up a mother in the same house as her children," I loved Randy, but sometimes his imagination ran wild. I walked over and wrapped my arms around his waist, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "And before you ask again, no I'm not going to tell you."

"Fine," Randy huffed, and pressed his face in my hair. I snuggled closer to him, enjoying the closeness. "Will you at least tell me _my_ fate come Sunday?"

"That, I can do. S.H.I.E.L.D. loses, because Seth Rollins turns on them. Then later in the night, he will cash in his title match briefcase, becoming the world heavyweight champion," I laughed when I pulled back to see him grimacing. He didn't care for Rollins at all, on screen or off. "He joins the Authority, gets all pig-headed and that pisses you off. Sensing they might turn on you, you strike first."

"So you're putting the whole wrath of the collaborative Authority on my neck?" Randy mocked pouted at me. I smirked up at him and quickly kissed his pursed lips.

"I thought you liked having the Big Show's hands on you," I teased, quickly slipping away from him before I paid for that comment. But Randy was hot on my heels. He chased me around the room, before catching me and pinning me against the wall. "But don't worry. You won't be alone. And that's all you get."

"RANDY! LORA!" A booming yell echoed from upstairs. We froze against each other, hearing the tormented yell of John Cena coming from our living room. I pushed Randy off me and we ran up the stairs. We found John in front of the TV, staring at it as if he had just seen a ghost. I followed his gaze as saw the news program still replaying the story about the fallen plane crash. I watched with him momentarily. The scene was terrible. Bits of plane were strewn about all over the ground, with luggage and debris coating the countryside greenery. "Have you been watching this?"

His voice wasn't nearly as strong as it was previously. Instead, it was weak and broke on certain words. I cast a confused glance towards Randy. He shrugged his shoulders, clearly as in the dark as I was. I stepped closer to John and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "John? What is it?"

He turned bloodshot eyes in my direction, staring down at me with such sadness that my stomach clenched.

"That was Casie's plane."

 **DON'T HATE ME!**

 **A few things before I leave, Brock, for my story, didn't win the title against John like he did in the actual progression of things. I'm using to him to my will, because I am the Puppet Master! MUWAHAHA! Lol jk.. oh, and I'm super excited to write about Sting! When I was ten, he was absolutely my favorite! And I think I lost my voice when he actually debuted in WWE. I've got some pretty exciting things for Lora to experience!**

 **And as for John… well just stay tuned! That's all I can say!**

 **Thanks to** _ **kimberly316, KarlishaCullen, RKOsgirl92 and Chermayne**_ **and you guys who've favorited! PLEASE REVIEW! It makes me happy to see your responses!**


	4. The Grey

**I'm glad some people are happy to see Brock coming into the story! I tried to write him the best I could. I didn't want him to come off as pushover when I highly doubt that he in real life. And I don't want to relieve too much personality all at once. But you know he's got to have one, if he is married to Sable. A fact that I didn't know for the longest time, up until last year some time. Of course I already knew who Sable was. I can still hear King's high voice screaming about puppies whenever she was on the screen.**

 **But I had to have him in the plot line, because I'm totally a citizen of Suplex city! I've jumped aboard the Lesnar band wagon, as much as I thought I'd never would. Especially after the streak ended.**

 **But, on we go!**

 **Chapter 4-** The Grey

 **Randy**

" _That was Casie's plane."_

John's words echoed around the room, impacting each occupant. My heart fell into my stomach as I stared at my best friend. His shoulders drooped as his legs shook dangerously. I rushed to his side, placing a hard grip on his bicep, and steered him towards the couch. I chanced a glance over at Lora. She hadn't moved, still boring a hole in the TV with her gaze. I couldn't decipher any emotion on her face. She was just blank. I tore eyes away from her and sat down with John on the couch. "How do you know that was her plane?"

John pulled out his cell phone, and went to his text messages and found the last text he received from Casie and handed me the phone. It was sent in the wee hours of the morning, giving the flight details and times of her trip. I stared at the numbers and compared them to those on the TV. The iron fist around my heart gripped harder. They were identical. It was now that Lora finally seemed to snap out of her stupor. "You don't even know she was on it. She could have missed the flight, or had a layover somewhere and switched planes."

My heart told me that my wife was doing nothing but grasping at straws, but I didn't have it in me to shoot her down. Not when she had lost so much already. I agreed with her just to placate her for the time being. The logical part of my brain knew the truth. It was just something I could feel. But I had no clue on how to start to figure out if Casie was, indeed, on that plane. Then inspiration struck, "I'm going to call Vince."

Both Lora and John nodded at me, and my wife replaced my spot on the couch next to John, rubbing soothing circles on his back. I stepped out onto the front porch, in the hot heat of August. Pulling my phone out of my jean pocket, I took a deep breath and called Vince. _"McMahon?"_

"Vince, it's Randy," I spoke quickly and quietly. Words almost failed me. How was one supposed to have a conversation like this? But I shook my head, knowing that I had two people counting on me. "Vince, listen. Have you heard about that plane crash in West Virginia? Well, John's here at my house, saying that that was Casie's flight home from London."

" _Shit, you can't be serious Randy?"_ If I didn't already know that he knew I wouldn't joke around with something like that, I would have gotten pissed off. I asked him if there was anything he could to find out if Casie had been on that plane; they hadn't released to the press the passenger list, not even if there were any survivors. _"I'll get right on it. It might take some time, but I'll my personal PI's to track her movements down. Randy, watch after John until we have definitive proof."_

oo

Time stretched on in an unbearably slow fashion. There was still no word from Vince, and the news had started to show less and less of the wreckage as the hours passed. Lora and John only left the couch to use the bathroom or to pace in front of the TV. I poked my head in on them from time to time from the kitchen. Lora was sitting, legs curled underneath her, flipping through the channels to see if another station had more details. John was staring out of the window, over the front porch, as if he was waiting on Casie to pull up in a cab.

As night fell, I had left the two of them alone to go relieve Luke's babysitter and bring him back to the house. When I returned, I noticed a familiar car in the driveway. Sure enough, when I had entered my home, I saw the blonde Genevieve in the kitchen, tossing some leafy greens in a large bowl and checked on a pre-made lasagna in the oven. And that's where I stayed, because Lora was in no place to play hostess.

"How are they doing?" Ginny whispered from the barstool she perched on. Her face was drawn tight in stress over her friend, and my heart tugged at the show of support for my wife. Not only was she worried for Lora, Genevieve was fretting over John as well. She and John had grown closer in those few days he had kept Keith while everyone here was sick. Keith had Tom coming over to his uncle's house which earned the two adults some bonding time.

"I haven't a clue," I murmured, settling down in the seat next to her. I picked up my glass tumbler of dark brown liquid and sipped at it. The bourbon burned the whole way down, but it was a welcome pain. "I can't help but fear for Lora. She's already lost so much in her life. The thought of having to watch her go through another loss is heartbreaking."

Ginny nodded, sipping on her own red wine. She licked her lips and sat her glass down. "I'm worried for John if the worst comes to pass. I know how it feels to lose someone like that. Especially if you have a child together."

Shame washed over me. I hadn't even thought about Luke, my godson. The little boy could very well have lost his mother today; I was being selfish, just thinking about my wife alone. Back when Lora had the twins, for a short period of time, I thought my kids were going to lose their mother. The thought was life shattering. Pain almost debilitating. I forced myself to look away from Genevieve as I let those thoughts consume me. That poor child.

The sound of my phone vibrating on the glass top of our kitchen table stirred me from my down spiral. I rushed to it, finding an e-mail from Vince. About damn time, it had been over seven hours. I clicked and tapped at my phone until I opened the message.

 _Randy,_

 _I just received this from my PI Taylor. Its surveillance footage from the layover exchange in Washington D.C. That's where the crashed plane departed from. I haven't viewed it yet. I thought it better that, good or bad, John should be the first. Let me know the outcome._

 _Vince_

I ran into the living room. After informing Lora and John of Vince's discovery, they gathered around me. My heart was beating painfully. This was it, the answer we were all waiting for. Lora wrung her hands around her wrists and John stared stoically at the phone, waiting on me. I took a deep breath and opened the attachment and hit play.

The scene on the screen showed a string of people lining up and handing over their ticket to the flight attendants. Person after person filed into the doomed plane as the time stamp continued to click on. Lora's hand gripped my forearm at the same time I saw her. There she was, Casie, smiling at the woman in the blue suit, handing over her ticket before boarding the plane. The screen went blank as the video cut off. No one spoke. It was like they were afraid to speak, to make this situation real. As if they thought maybe if the silence stretched on, then they could stay blissfully ignorant to fact that Casie was indeed on that fateful airplane. The commercial on the TV ended and the news popped back on, with BREAKING NEWS in red letters across the screen.

" _We have just now been informed by the local police in West Virginia, after an extensive search and rescue, there were no survivors. The cause of the crash is still yet to be known. The police are still searching for the black box to try to determine what could have caused such a tragedy—"_

Genevieve appeared suddenly, as she shut the TV off with the remote. I looked up at her to see the painful emotions running across her face. And at that very moment, I did not know what to do. I didn't know what to say, I didn't know how to act. It was as if I was frozen in stillness. My brain refused to act, and my muscles wouldn't move. Casie Patterson-Cena. Wife of my, for all intents and purposes, brother, best friend of my wife and mother of my godson was dead. She had died. I couldn't think. I couldn't wrap my head around it.

"No," Lora shuddered out. Her breath quickened and came in short gasps. I finally forced myself to move, if it was to only turn my head to look in her direction. Her eyes were still on the dark screen of the TV. Fresh tears brimmed on her lashes and slowly, one by one, began to streak down her face. "No, no, no."

She buried her face into her hands and started to cry silently. My heart shattered into pieces watching her fall apart. I reached out for her and she fell into my arms, her head tucked under chin. Tightening my grip around her, I felt the couch shift underneath me. John had stood up suddenly, looking around the room, as if for a loss of purpose. If my heart had been broken by Lora, it was nothing compared to seeing the look on John's face. He had just lost his wife. I had no words for him, because if I had been in his shoes, nothing would have helped me. Those moments where I thought I was going to lose Lora had sent me into a tailspin.

Suddenly, John did an about-face and strode purposefully from the house. I stared after him, not knowing what to do. Lora needed me but so did John. He didn't need to be left alone right now. But Lora was a crying mess in my arms. I was torn between my best friend and my wife. A part of me didn't want to let Lora go, having witnessed just how delicate life was; then another part of me reared up with guilt and shame knowing I could hold my wife when John never would again. Genevieve moved to stand in front of me, placing a soft hand on Lora's shoulder. "Go to him. I'll stay with her. He needs you."

I nodded and gave Ginny a look of appreciation and let her arms replace mine around Lora's frame and tore off after John. Once outside, I saw that John's truck was still here, but he was nowhere in sight. I ran to the street and spin in a circle, trying to find him. I spotted a white blob bobbing through the trees directly in front of the house and took off after John's retreating form. Once I caught up with him, we were in a small clearing with a few power poles lined up next to one another. John collapsed against one of the poles and I ran up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder. John moved so suddenly, spinning around and throwing his arm in a punch, trying to aim it at me. I just barely ducked and his torso hit mine and I brought both my arms around him tightly.

It was then that I realized he was shaking. I heard his breath ripping from his throat and as his cheek pressed against my throat, I felt the wetness of tears. I redoubled my strength in my grip and held on to him. John took a shuddering breath and screamed out at the top of his lungs. I had never heard John make such a sound in the whole time I knew him. It shocked me, but not enough to let go of him. I just held onto him tighter as his screams reverberated around the trees and echoed back to us; amplifying the sorrowful pain around us. His knees gave way and his dead weight propped against me with such force that I staggered into the power pole his had previously used. I felt like the world had just come crashing down around us as I ignored my own tears welling and threatening to spill over.

"O-Oh God!" John choked out as I had to lower the both of us to the ground because I had lost some of my control and could no longer support his weight anymore. I released my tight grip, but still kept an arm around his back. John had lost all control and was in between screaming and crying out in agony. His face was twisted and etched with anguish. "H-How could s-she just be… g-gone? I talked to her l-last night! What am I going to do now? How am I g-going to just go on… w-without her?"

I shut my eyes tightly, feeling my own tears flow down my cheeks. John was broken. There was no other way to describe it. My breath caught in my throat, trying to find something, anything, to say to him. But I knew my words would do nothing to bring Casie back. I swallowed down the jump in my throat and tried to speak without my voice cracking. This was a complete failure. "You've got too, John. You can't just stop living, no matter how much you want to right now. Luke has already lost his mother today; he can't lose his father too."

At my words, John wrenched his body from my grip, and falling to his hands and knees in the dirt before us. His fingers dug into the ground, unearthing soil with the fierce grip from his hands. And his screams started back up again with renewed force. I knew I had only made it worse by bringing up his son. How in the hell was John going to break the news to Luke?

oo

I stood silently in my dressing room, slowly wrapping the black tape around my palms and wrists. To me, and a handful of other people backstage, it seemed pointless to continue on with the Summerslam tonight. Just two days ago, former WWE Diva, Tamara, had been killed in a horrific plane crash. John was nowhere in the building, not even in the same state as the pay-per-view. Vince had postponed his US title match against Rusev, the Bulgarian Brute, until his mental state came back. To my knowledge, no one had even spoken to him since the body of his wife was flown back to him. He refused to speak to anyone, and Luke had been pretty much living with us.

"Hi," a small voice spoke out, and I jumped slightly, not having heard the door open. I looked up to see Lora meekly walking into the room. Lora had decided to come with me, not wanting to be left alone since the death of her friend. "I just talked to Becky. She said the kids are doing fine and are getting ready to watch their Daddy on TV."

A small smile crossed my face at the mention of my kids. But that faltered when I thought back to the night when we told them about Casie. Tiegan had just cried, until she exhausted herself into sleep while Keith was surprisingly quiet about the whole thing. He tried his best hold in his feelings the best he could. My young son was only six years old, but was already an old friend of death. A thought that tore at my heart. He only had an outburst when it was time for Lora and me to leave. He screamed and cried and begged us not to get on any airplanes. He didn't want the same thing that happened to Casie to happen to his parents. He was only consoled when we promised to take the tour bus instead. It tacked on another eight hours to our trip, but it was worth it for our son. I held my hand out for her to take and lead her to the door. "Are you ready for this?"

"No. But that doesn't mean it won't happen with or without me," Lora sighed and tucked herself into my side as we made our way to the arena floor. I wrapped my arm around her and followed the throng of people heading in the same direction we were. At the gorilla station, where the curtain to the entrance was, a huge crowd of superstars stood waiting. I pushed through them and pulled Lora with to the head of the group. They moved quickly out of our way when they realized who was coming through. Everyone seemed to cast sympathetic stares in Lora's direction. They all knew how close the two of them were.

At the head of the group, I saw Vince, Paul and Stephanie. All of them looked as if they had lost a deal of sleep, but none of them as much as Stephanie. She detached herself from her husband and moved to stand in front of Lora. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," came her response, but her voice betrayed her. She was anything but fine. But like my Lora, she was strong and willed herself to get through each day, if not just minute to minute. Stephanie engulfed my wife into a bone-crushing hug, her pale green eyes dusting over.

"You can take some time off if you need too," Stephanie said as she pulled back, wiping at her eyes discreetly. Paul reached out and took her hand back in his to try to give her some support. As I did when I pulled Lora back into my chest.

"No, no. I can't do that. Firstly, s-she wouldn't want me too," Lora said, her voice cracking despite her best efforts. She sniffed lightly and took a deep breath to calm herself. "And secondly, I've got some major stuff planned that I'm excited about. It might just be the push you're looking for Vince."

She turned her eyes to stare at Vince McMahon. He was dressed in a light grey suit with a pale blue tie. He smiled at her sadly, clearly appreciating her dedication. A stage hand said it was time to start lining up on the ramp and Summerslam would kick off in five minutes. Lora and I followed behind the three heads of the company and stood next to them at the beginning of the ramp. A tribute to Tamara would start off the pay-per-view. I could just make out Michael Cole, John Layfield and Jerry Lawler beyond the ring, standing behind their announce table. Lillian Garcia was already standing in the ring.

I stood on Lora's right side, with Stephanie on her left. Lora had her feet braced at shoulders width apart, trying to steel herself against the raging emotions inside her. She had her hands clamped together in front of her, and eyes locked onto the ring. I looked behind us and up at the titantron screen to see a photo of Casie, a.k.a. Tamara, displayed.

 _In memory of  
_ Tamara  
1984-2017

"Ladies and gentleman," Lillian began to speak and the crowd went respectfully quiet. "To honor the life of former, WWE Diva Tamara, please rise, as we toll the bell ten times."

The first bell tolled, ringing out into the quiet of seventeen thousand people showing their respects to a true legend in the Diva's division. The second bell followed the first, and I could hear the women around me begin to sniffle in their own sadness. I kept my head bowed, but I cut my gaze to Lora as the third bell tolled. I knew she could no longer see anything in front of her, because her eyes were full of tears, but she refused to blink to allow them to spill. After the fourth bell, her chin began to shake. She reached out for me, only moving her arm, when she heard the fifth bell echo throughout the arena. I quickly grabbed her hand, and clutched it in mine. Her breathing was ragged, but only I noticed. She really was doing a phenomenal job at holding herself together. I could only see the cracks and fissures in her because I knew what her tells were. Finally, the tenth and last bell tolled and the crowd erupted into cheers, celebrating the life that was taken too soon. Tamara's entrance music played and echoed throughout the arena one last time, while everyone clapped along.

" _It's a crack, I'm back yeah standing  
On the rooftops shouting out,  
Baby I'm ready to go  
I'm back and ready to go  
From the rooftops shout it out  
It's a crack, I'm back yeah standing  
On the rooftops having it  
Baby I'm ready to go…"_

oo

Raw the next night, started out in a similar fashion to Summerslam. Except this time, they just replayed the video of the ten bell toll and the video montage of Casie's career. Something for which I was thankful for. I didn't know if Lora could go through that again. After her video was over, they showed replays of the highlights from last night's event. The small screen in my dressing room showed me with Evolution fighting against S.H.I.E.L.D. Then it showed Seth Rollins as he turned his back on Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose, attacking them both with a steel chair as the three of us stood and gawked, and Triple H going to the cheap three count on Dean Ambrose. Then it flash-forwarded to the end of the night, showing Seth stealing the title by using his Money in the Bank briefcase. The video cut out to a live feed to the announcers at their table, who were barely heard over the chants, "You Sold Out".

I stood from the couch and left the room. I was due in a spot backstage in less than thirty minutes, and I had to check in. I rounded the corner when I heard raised voices, voices that I knew.

"What are they doing here?" Pat Patterson barked as I turned to face him. I surveyed the scene before me. The old man was surrounded by Vince, Stephanie and Paul behind him. And Lora, Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar who stood directly in front of him. My hand clenched tightly into a fist when I realized that Pat was accosting my wife.

"They are here because they are a part of the story line I'm writing, and it begins tonight," Lora threw back at him. I had all the respect in the world for Patterson, but right now I wanted to throttle him for yelling at my wife, especially in her current state. "Brock is the new number one contender for the world title."

That little fact was new to me. So that's why they were at the house last week. I had completely forgotten about it after learning the news about Casie. Vince raised his eyebrows so high that they almost disappeared into his hairline. Even Stephanie and Paul looked shocked. Vince cleared his throat, "Lora, I don't know if this is such a good idea."

"Thank you! It isn't! Am I the only one who remembers what a pain in the ass he was last time?" Patterson spit out and fumed towards my wife. Heyman scoffed at his words and brock started bouncing from one foot to the other. I shook my head and moved quickly to stand beside my wife. Brock and Heyman cast me a wary glance before assuming I would take my wife's side. And in this instance, was theirs as well.

"Forgive me, Vince, but you did tell me to pull out any stops that I deemed necessary. And, this is something that I deem," she spoke softly, but strongly, trying to infer as much respect towards him as she could. All façade was dropped when her eyes turned towards Pat. "And you'd be lying through your teeth if you say that Brock is the only man to be a dick upon attaining the title. From what I heard, Randy wasn't the most modest in his first couple of runs. No offense, babe."

I smirked down at her, reaching out to grasp her hand to give it a little squeeze. I wasn't going to deny it. I was an insufferable prick before I met Lora. Paul Levesque sniggered into his hand and I threw him a glare. Like he had any room to talk?

"Besides, Brock here was just a means to an end, to the bigger plot twist I have coming," Lora spoke over the twitter of whispered voices around us. Vince still looked thoroughly unconvinced and Lora broke away from me to step closer to the Chairman. "I give you my word that if these two surprises I planned does not boost the Network sales by fifteen percent, I'll resign and leave the company."

"Lora," I gasped, but she held her hand up to me to quit talking. Her eyes alight with the flame of her passion. Everyone looked as completely shocked as I was. Chancing a glance behind me, I saw that Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar were staring at Lora as if she had just grown two heads. And who could blame them? Not many people stuck their neck out for either one of them as Lora was now. The only one that wasn't shocked into silence was Levesque. If I wasn't mistaken, he almost looked proud.

"Vince, give her a chance. You know as well as I, that Lora has the fan's interest at heart. We have to believe she wouldn't jump into something like this without doing her research, and trolling the forums before pitching this to us." Lora threw him a look of gratitude.

"She hasn't pitched anything! She just brings them here and expects us to be okay with it?" Pat's face was beet red and his nostrils flared dangerously. I took a menacing step in his direction. He better reign it in soon or I might have to knock this legend down a peg or two. "Who does she think she is—"

"Enough!" Vince boomed, and silenced everyone. Pat mouthed something comically, looking like a fish without water. "I agree with Paul. I'll allow this to continue to complete this arc Lora has created. But, Lora, if he puts one toe out of line, I'm going to hold you personally responsible."

And with that, he stormed away. Paul and Stephanie shot worried smiles in her direction before following after Vince. Pat just scoffed and stalked away in the opposite direction. I saw Lora's form slump momentarily in relief before turning back to face the three people still staring at her. She marched right past me and straight into Lesnar's personal space.

"I swear to God, if you ruin this for me, I'll end you. I don't care how big you are, how strong you are or how scary you can be. If I lose my job because I put my neck on the line for you," she fumed, poking him in the chest with each word of her last sentence. She was literally poking a bear. I immediately stepped to her side, expecting the worse. "I gave you my word that I would make you champion. And I plan on keeping that, and making for some extremely enjoyable moments for the Universe. I don't give a damn if you do what _they_ tell you to do. But you have to trust me. I have your back, and I need to know that you've got mine."

As it turned out, my fears were misplaced. Instead of the growling beast I expected to see, he was just staring down at the red headed woman before him with keen interest. He didn't speak but he nodded his head at her. Assuming that's the best she was going to get, Lora turned on her heel and walked away towards my dressing room. Leaving the three of us to stare after her. To my surprise, Brock was the first to speak up.

"Quite the little spitfire, huh?" I turned to stare at Lesnar, seeing no ill will or malice. Just amusement. And, shockingly, respect. I was under the impression that Brock Lesnar respected no one, aside from Heyman. Leave it to my Lora to tame the Beast. He cut his steel blue eyes to meet my gaze. "She's got one hell of a temper on her."

Laughter bubbled into my throat and before I could stop myself, I laughed loudly at his words. Brock cut me a small smirk at my reaction as I began to follow after my wife, speaking over my shoulder, "You have no idea."

 **Okay, John utterly broke my heart to write about. And I know you all hate for tormenting him! A little piece of me hates myself as well! But as Dr. Ian Malcolm says in Jurassic Park, "Life… uh, um, finds a way"! Sorry, had to throw that in there. Gotta love Goldblum!**

 **I know you all are excited for two chapter updates in one, but don't get too spoiled. I just couldn't keep my fingers quiet today!**

 **Thanks to** _ **kimberly316, KarlishaCullen, RKOsgirl92, Chermayne, guest and bingobaby**_ **for the reviews! Keep them coming! =D**


	5. Denial

**So, how depressing was that last chapter? I know, even I choked up a little! But, now that the hard part is over, it's time to start healing. Not to say that all the crying bits are past us, but they are going to be fewer and farther between! It's time to start focusing on life! And I've been super excited to get to the actual workings of Lora's storylines! EEK! And as of this past Monday's episode, I've got another one planned that will start here in this episode! PUMPED!**

 **Chapter 5-** Denial

 **Lora**

The anger and adrenaline that was pumping through my veins after chastising Brock Lesnar had me stalking the hallways of the arena. I really hadn't meant to yell at him like I had, but that Patterson had just pushed me to the limit of my patience. I get that he's a legend and all, but really, the business wasn't the same as it was in his day. The audience wasn't the same. They demanded a higher quality of product, and I was determined to give it to them. That was what I was hired for in the first place, right? I stopped walking after turning another corner, and leaned up against the cinderblock wall.

It was times like these, in the brief pauses of my life when I wasn't actively thinking of anything else, that my thoughts turned to Casie. My head rested against the wall and I turned my eyes to the fluorescent lights above me. She had only been gone from my life four days. Sometimes it felt like an eternity and other times I felt like if I made another turn in the hallway, I would run into her. My heart hurt painfully and my eyes stung every time I thought about her. Sighing, I forced myself off the wall and went in search of something to take my mind off my pain. I didn't get very far before I came up on a very pale woman with hair as dark as raven's feathers watching a live feed of a Diva's match. The look on her face could only be described as disgust watching Nikki Bella and Cameron prancing about the ring.

"Pitiful, isn't it?" Paige said, in her British accent, turning to look at me. And as I watched several botched moves and miscues, I couldn't help but agree with her. It was common knowledge that the Diva's division wasn't the crown jewel of the WWE, but it had never been this bad. It was like they were there more for show than competition. "This isn't what I signed up for. I wanted to make a difference, and bring back athleticism to the brand. But how can I when the division is full of nothing but simpering Barbie dolls?"

"I agree with you," I commented, settling myself into a chair next to her. Paige and I were fairly friendly acquaintances and the few times we had spoken, I felt like we could be good friends if given the opportunity. "I grew up watching Sable, Lita, Mickie James and Trish Stratus… some of the greats in my opinion. Now, it's almost a chore to have one small measly match just to keep them relevant. It's sad really. But you're different; not like the rest of them. You actually have in-ring talent and ability."

"Thanks for that," Paige said, looking shocked and little proud, "but I'm afraid I can't make a difference just by myself." She turned to eyes back to the screen in time to see the Bella twins bring back a little twin magic and cheat to win. A pointless match. Paige groaned slightly, and turned to stare at me with soft eyes. "I'm really sorry about Tamara. I never met her, but I've heard people around here talk about how close the two of you were. She really was one of my favorites. A strong Diva with talent to back it up."

I bit my lip to keep it from shaking again. Casie was thrust into my thoughts one more time, and I fought hard to maintain my composure. I smiled slightly at Paige. "Thank you. And she was an excellent competitor. In fact, she wasn't pleased with the downturn of the division after she left."

"I bet she wasn't," Paige laughed and before she could comment further, a stage hand called her away to do her spot that was coming up. I stared after her, letting her words soak in. Casie would definitely not stand for the way the women were treating this once-prestigious sport. I felt an idea budding quickly in my brain, forming almost right before my eyes. I quickly dug my phone out of my pocket and composed an e-mail to Stephanie McMahon.

oo

"So, I believe that a few of us owe Mrs. Orton an apology," Vince spoke to the room full of people. We were all in the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Smackdown was being taped here tonight, and Vince was having his usual staff meeting in this building for pure convenience. I felt my cheeks flush slightly as I looked around the room. The normal people were here; Pat, Stephanie, Paul and a few other creative team members. But sitting to my opposite side was Randy, Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar. I was the great divide in the room. "The crowd reaction to Brock challenging Seth exceeded expectations. We even had a sales spurt, over a thousand Network subscriptions purchased, within ten minutes of Lesnar's promo."

I bit my tongue to hold back my "I told you so" retort, and just took my praise with grace. I cast a quick glance to Pat to see him, still, silently fuming. The guy held a grudge against Brock, but that wasn't my problem. Randy shifted in his seat, and I noticed him smiling like the cat that ate the canary. My heart grew against my ribcage at the look of pride on his face. He truly supported me in my job, and he took pleasure from my success as much as I did. And here I thought it was impossible to love him even more.

"So, Lora, given your recent success, are you going to divulge why you brought Brock back?" Paul asked, light bouncing in his eyes. I smiled at my friend, sending him a silent 'thank you' for his continuous faith in me. "What's this second surprise?"

"I'm afraid that's still on a 'need to know' basis, and right now, you don't need to know," I smirked at him as he chuckled softly at me. I cut my eyes to Paul Heyman and Lesnar, who, thankfully, looked completely uninterested in my words and acting as if they weren't paying me any attention. After all, the three of us were the only people that knew of my plans. I turned my attention back to Paul. "But I will tell you that it involves you."

"I like it already!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands together in agreement. I laughed at his response and shook my head. He really was the lovable teddy bear sometimes. Vince rolled his eyes at his actions, though he couldn't help the amused smirk from crossing his face. Vince was always agreeable when he just made a chunk of change.

"Do what you must Lora. You have my complete trust. Now, Randy will turn on the Authority tonight, and compete in a three-on-one handicap match with Kane and Seth Rollin's 'new' security team of Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury. That will set up for Rollins' to be free to deal with Lesnar in promo battles and a few tiffs to build up to Survivor Series. Paul, you'll wait for action from Lora, and the rest of you have your orders."

With that, the meeting was over and Vince strode from the room. I was giddy despite myself, at my success. I knew that it was going to go off without a hitch, but even I had my fears. Especially after I offered over my job as punishment should anything go awry. That was a spur of the moment decision and I'm glad that I wouldn't have to eat my words. I loved my job more than I had ever thought I would. I was invested in this business and I didn't think I would ever tire of it. I stood from my seat and went to follow Randy out of the room when Stephanie stopped me. "Lora, would you mind following me a minute?"

I nodded at her and looked back at Randy who smiled in understanding, kissed my cheek and departed down the hall way. Turning back to Stephanie, we set off in the opposite direction. Once falling into stride next to her, I looked over at her. "What's up?"

"After receiving your e-mail, I've been doing a lot of thinking. And you're right. A change needs to be made. Now." And that's all she said. My interest was piqued and my heart began to race. I hadn't planned on any action to come this soon, but it shouldn't surprise me. Stephanie was nothing but efficient when it came to her company. I knew she, as a woman, would see where I was coming from; I was glad that she seemed as passionate about this as I was. She stopped suddenly and opened a door on her right. I followed her inside to come into the training room.

Several arena rings were set up around me, with training weights and equipment lining the walls. Stephanie wove her way in between three of the rings and stopped in front of the one in the far back of the room. That's when I noticed eight women standing in between the ropes. I vaguely knew their names, but I knew where they were from. They were the women competitors on the developmental show, NXT. They all looked curious and gave furtive looks between both Stephanie and myself. It was then that I noticed Paige sitting on the top turnbuckle of one corner of the same ring, looking confused, but intrigued by our appearances. She smiled over at me, waving lightly. I returned her smile brightly.

"Good afternoon girls!" Stephanie called out to them, and they all stood extremely still, out of respect for the boss. I leaned a hip against the ring apron and gave my focus to my friend. "I'm sure you're all wondering why I've called you here. So I'm going to cut down to the chase. We need a change. And we need it now. Not here in NXT, but on the main roster. I've noticed for a long time that interest has slipped and is basically non-existent for the Diva's division any more. Unfortunately, I've just had too much on my plate lately, to give the attention that I want to this. But I have excellent news. I've found you someone to create the revolution the Universe is calling, shouting, for.

"This is Lora Orton," Stephanie introduced me, and I tried to wipe the shock off my face, at hearing her news. This bombshell. She wanted me at the helm of this? Paige hopped down from the turnbuckle and walked closer, surprise written all over her face. My heart was pounding in my ears. "Some of you may know her, some of you may not. She's a top creative writer here at the company, along with being the wife of a top superstar. She was a longtime fan before joining the company, and has worked hard to rise up to the top of the brass ring. Lora wants this revolution just as much as the rest of you."

"What do you mean?" A tall blonde woman asked, wide eyes staring at Stephanie. I knew her immediately. Or rather, I knew her by proxy of her father. Charlotte, as she was known to the Universe, was the daughter of the two-time Hall of Famer, Ric Flair. I didn't know much about her in-ring ability, but if her pedigree meant anything, she was bound to be excellent.

"What I mean is, Lora will be picking three of you, to join Paige, to advance to the Raw roster, to change the way people think about women wrestlers," at Stephanie's words, all the women began shifting around excitedly and muttering to one another. I gaped at my friend, wondering what could have possessed her to appoint me with such power. The dark haired woman smiled at me, before addressing the girls once more. "Now, I'll turn the floor over to Lora, and she'll tell you what exactly she's looking for."

A speech? I had to give an impromptu speech? My heart fluttered in my chest as I let my eyes roam over all the women in the ring, looking at me appreciatively. My eyes locked with the dark ones of Paige, and she smiled assuredly at me. I took a deep breath and climbed the steps into the ring and through the ropes. I wanted to be on their level if I was going to do this.

"Well, like Steph said, my name is Lora Orton," I began, deciding on a brief bio before I began, "I've been with the company for roughly seven years. I was first the Head of Musical sound check, which basically I handled the entrance music and titantron screens. But for nearly two years now, I've been writing top story lines for the headlining superstars."

"You also had an awesome storyline a few years ago, with Randy and the Miz, right?" asked the girl with fire orange hair. She had a soft Irish accent that reminded me of Edoin, a former Diva in her own right. I smiled at her.

"Yes, yes I did. With me and, at the time, my two children."

"You took one hell of a Skull Crushing Finale!" The woman with hair color of deepest magenta exclaimed. She looked impressively at me, apparently approving of my courage. Charlotte and the woman with orange hair nodded in agreement with the shorter woman. My resolve strengthened at the boastful words from these women.

"That was nothing compared to wrath I got from hiding that twist from my husband, I'll tell you," I laughed at my words, but forced away the shiver that tried to overtake me at the memory. Randy had been super pissed off at me for keeping that from me. I had never seen him that upset with me. Laughter skirted about the ring as the women laughed at my statement. "But anyway, back to why Stephanie asked me here. As you heard, she's given me the right to advance three of you to revolutionize the Diva's division. For too long, the Diva's matches have been viewed as nothing more than a Victoria's Secret swimsuit showcase or a good time for a bathroom break. That's a terrible way to keep up the proud reputation set before you from legendary women of the past. Such as Moolah, Wendy Richter, Sable, Trish Stratus, Lita… and even the late Tamara."

The ring got really quiet at the mention of Tamara's name. I didn't know if the any of these women, besides Paige, knew how close Casie and I were. I took a deep, steadying breath to calm the wave of grief that rolled over me. "For those who don't know, Casie, or Tamara, was my best friend. She was my first friend here in the company. And she one hell of a Diva. Strength, wrestling ability and pure passion for what she did. And it's in her honor that I wanted to do this. For her. To legitimize the division as a memorial to her legacy."

"What do you want us to do?" Charlotte asked, stepping forward slightly, showing initiative for the challenge set before her.

"You'll have to forgive me for my lack of knowledge of the talents in this ring," I admitted, figuring the truth was the best route to take. "Between my career, my husband and four children, I don't get much spare time to view anything other than what I write myself. So, what I want to see today is a few singles' match ups. What I want you to show me is not how to flaunt to the audience. We have enough, as Paige put it, Barbie dolls already running amok in the current roster. I want to see difficult submission moves, power, strength; pure and simple bad-ass women's wrestling."

"Here, here!" A deep booming voice echoed out from behind me, and I turned to see Randy standing in between the two rings behind us. He must have gotten impatient, waiting for me. Whispering broke out behind me as I stepped to the ropes, leaning against them to smirk at my husband. His eyes sparkled, as he stared back up at me. I rolled my eyes and turned back to the girls.

"As I was saying, I want to be impressed. The three women that impress me the most, will move up to the Raw roster. So, split up into groups of two and we'll get started," I climbed out of the ring, and went to stand next to Randy as the girls divided up.

"That was excellent, Lora. I couldn't have said it better myself," Stephanie said, coming to join us. I thanked her and the three of us settling into chairs and awaited the competition to start.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were working out with John today?" I asked Randy, bumping his shoulder lightly with mine as the two women Steph told me were known as Bailey and Carmella locked up.

"I was supposed to, but he's already at the arena, using the gym facility there," Randy said, and I could tell he sounded worried. John wasn't supposed to come back to work for a while, but he showed up in Florida earlier this morning. His attitude was completely flipped from the past four days. One could almost say that he was back to normal. That is, if that person was a complete stranger to John. His outward actions and attitude came off as old peppy, good-natured John, but his eyes were dead. No light shining back through them. And for all I knew, he hadn't even mentioned Casie's name once since her body was delivered back to him.

I knew that at her parent's request, he had her cremated, but the last I heard; he hadn't picked up her remains from the funeral home yet. He had not mentioned anything about a memorial service or any type of funeral. And being her next of kin, it was his responsibility. But besides that, having a sanctioned moment of grieving time would benefit him in the long run. He needed to grieve to be able to move on. I sighed and turned my attention back to women wrestling before me.

And hour and a half passed by quickly with every single woman in the room pulling out all the stops. I knew immediately it was going to be a hard choice to make. They were all so excellent. I wanted to bring them all up. But, as it was, only three would advance. My first pick was a no brainer. Especially after seeing just how genetically gifted she was. Charlotte's rendition of her father's figure four was intense. She added a back bend to it, renaming the move the Figure Eight, because it was twice as good as her father's. My second pick was the current NXT Women's Champion, Sasha Banks with the deep magenta hair. She had no reservations in the ring and threw her body around with abandon to hit some pretty amazing moves. My third and final pick was the girl with fire orange hair, Becky Lynch. The Irish-born wrestler had extreme energy and was a lot of fun to watch her quick moves fly about the ring.

"Now, this Monday will be your debut," I spoke when the rest of the women left the room, leaving the chosen ones behind to receive their orders. "I haven't yet written how I want to bring you up just yet, but I should have something great by Sunday. I want to congratulate each one of you. You three girls are extremely impressive, and I think that with your talents, we can create a Diva's division that your predecessors can be proud of."

oo

"John, are you home?" I called out, using my personal house key given to me to enter his home. Three days had passed and neither Randy nor I had seen John since Tuesday's Smackdown taping. I had left Randy in charge of getting the kids together for a trip to the park with Becky's kids. I had an important meeting this afternoon that I didn't want Randy home for. But I had a couple of hours to kill and I wanted to check on John. I owed it to my best friend to look after her husband.

"Lora? Yeah, I'm in the living room," I followed his voice and saw him sitting on the couch, with Luke asleep in his arms. He was watching tapes of his previous matches. Nothing that was unusual for John. I looked around, everything in the house seemed normal, but still, something was off. I just couldn't put my finger on it.

"How are you?" I asked perching next to him on the couch. He shot me a wry smile that didn't reach his eyes. Nothing touched his eyes as of late.

"I'm just fine. Took a while to get Luke asleep, but apparently watching my old matches are boring enough to lull him into a coma," he joked, gesturing towards his slumbering son. I even laughed at his comment.

"Randy and I haven't' heard from you in a few days and we were beginning to worry." He laughed slightly at my words.

"There's no need to worry about me."

I sighed at his response and stared about the room, hopelessly. It was then that I noticed what was different about the room. All pictures that held Casie in them had either been took down or placed face down on the surface where it had previously sat proudly. My brows knitted in concern again. "John, what have you done with all your family photos?"

"It's too hard on Luke to see them right now," was all he said, never taking his off the TV. I huffed in frustration and moved to block his view of the screen. He looked up at me with blank blue eyes.

"You can't just erase her memory and expect that to make anything better. You can't erase his mother," I whispered vehemently, trying not to wake Luke up in my exasperation. John raised an eyebrow at me, gently shifting Luke so that he was lying on the couch. He stood from the couch and retreated into the kitchen. I was hot on his heels.

"Lora, no offense, please don't try to tell me how to raise my son."

"I'm not trying to do that!" I said, taken aback at his accusation. I would never do that. I was merely concerned. "But it isn't healthy to him to have everything about his mother taken from him."

"You don't know how hard this has been on him!" He shouted at me, and I took a step back in shock. "You don't know anything about how he's feeling, and how confused he is!"

"Screw you John!" I spat out at him, losing my temper as well. I knew it would do no good to argue with him, but that still didn't stop me. "You don't think I've had a hard time explaining to my kids about death? My own daughter almost died on me, and to try to explain that to Keith was terrible. When my mother died, my kids cried for weeks, asking about their 'Grammy'. And even now, with Casie, they are taking it just as hard. She was their second mother, so don't come to me with that bullshit!"

And with that, I turned on my heel and left a stunned John behind in my wake as I stormed from his house. By the time I arrived back at my house, I was already ashamed of how I had reacted with John. My anger had slowly seeped from me as I drove the streets of St. Louis back to our home. I had to remember, John was in pain, as much or more than the rest of us. I couldn't imagine having to live my life without Randy. Without my partner, the love of my life. Sighing, I shook my head. I had to pull it together, because I had less than an hour to prepare for the meeting of my life. And even thinking about it, made my heart race with anticipation.

I ran about the house, gathering all the paperwork I needed, and took it downstairs into my makeshift office in Randy's weight room. When I heard the doorbell ring, I jump slightly and fluffed my hair and ran upstairs. I opened the door and came face to face with my childhood hero. Steve Borden had black hair that was combed back and fell just below his ears with a squared shaped face that was oddly familiar, even without the face paint. His eyes were hidden from me with his dark black sunglasses, but he had a bright smile on his face that made his goatee crookedly slightly. "Lora Orton?"

"Yes! Yes, come inside, it's boiling hot out," I said, stepping aside to allow the man known as Sting into my home. I had to refrain from squealing like a child. I followed behind him like a puppy after I shut the door. He slipped off his glasses and tucked them into the collar of his shirt. He looked back at me expectantly and I shook myself out of revere to lead him into the basement. I nearly bounded down the stairs in my excitement. Gesturing towards the brown leather couch, I said "Sit, please. Make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you," and he took up one end of the couch. I sat opposite him, and stared at him, trying to memorize every moment of this experience. He tossed an arm casually over the back of the couch and turned to face me. I bit back another squeal. "You were very vague on the phone, only telling me that you worked for WWE and would like to meet with me. Is this for a DVD special or something?"

"Oh no! No," I felt like a stuttering fool. I had to get control over myself, or I would ruin this meeting because I was bumbling idiot. "But before we discuss business, I must ask if you could afford me a few minutes to have a fan girl moment?"

"For a lovely woman such as yourself, of course," he laughed lightly and waved me on. I stood up from the couch suddenly.

"You have been of my favorites since I was ten years old! My brother liked the old Sting, with the short white-blonde hair and bright face paint, but the Crow Sting was always my favorite!" I gushed, rushing over the cedar chest against the wall. I heard Steve chuckling softly at my actions. I lifted the lid and dug through my childhood mementos until I found it. The plastic white and black Sting replica face mask. The elastic that was supposed to hold up had long be stretched too many times from use to work properly any more. I held it gently in my hands and fetched the permanent marker from my briefcase bag and returned to the couch. "I've had this since I was ten, and if you would do me a great favor and sign it please?"

"Of course, I'll sign it, even though you just forced me to show my age by telling me how young you were when I was in my peak," he mused and took the objects from my hand. My stomach did flips as I watched him sign a loopy signature.

"Oh please! You didn't peak in WCW!"

"Well, I thank you for that. But I have a feeling you didn't bring me out here to sign this mask for you, am I right?" Perceptive. I nodded at him.

"I just had to get that out of my system if I was to prove to you that I was, in fact, professional," I laughed brightly, feeling my control returning after I replaced my precious mask, made even more precious, in the cedar chest. I settled myself back on the couch, and pulled out my paperwork, finally feeling like the powerhouse I needed to be. Hell, I had faced down Brock Lesnar on several occasions, I could handle this.

"All right, I'm just going to put it all out there and let you ask your questions. I want you to come to the WWE. I want you to fight Triple H."

His face went blank with shock. Something I could understand, especially after trying for over fourteen years to make these negotiations. He sat up a little straighter, obviously not expecting those words to come from me. "Vince asked you to do this?"

"Actually, no. Vince knows nothing of what I'm planning. He's given me full reign to pull out all the stops to bring up sales in the Network," I said, feeling as if I was saying those words for the hundredth time. Somehow, it didn't bother me to explain myself to this man. "I don't know if you follow Raw currently, but I was the one that brought Brock Lesnar back."

"I was actually shocked to see that happen," Steve mused, and I knew he must watch the show. "Everyone seemed to know the animosity they had for Lesnar when he ran off to the UFC. It was rumored Vince never wanted him back."

"Well, I did sort of have a screaming match with Pat Patterson," I giggled softly, thinking back to Monday. Steve's eyes widen at my words, obviously impressed. "But I got my way, and Vince actually appreciated me when the linings in his pockets thickened after Brock's promo. They don't know what I'm planning, with you hopefully. All they know is that it involves Triple H, and Paul is already shown interest, despite being clueless."

"And why do you think using me will bring up sales for this Network?" I heard the tone his voice took, and I didn't like it. I needed to set some things straight.

"Firstly, I am not _using_ you. I want to bring you into the WWE. Finally, after all these years," I implored and I saw his features soften a little. I took a deep breath, and barreled on. "It'll just be a happy accident that your appearance will raise sales. Second, why do you think the sales will rise? Because people want you in the company. They are getting bored with the stale rivalries and match ups we've seen a thousand times over. You are the fresh air that the Universe, including myself, is begging for."

"How long would this stint last?"

"Well, this particular arc would only require six or seven appearances, because I understand it is short notice," I said, explaining how I want him to start appearing at Survivor Series and several Monday night Raw's until a clash at the Night of Champions pay per view. "But I would like to cement future storylines for you. I believe I heard that you would be interested in fighting the Undertaker at WrestleMania?"

"I have said that before, yes," he said, his eyes boring into mine, as if daring me not to be pulling his leg. I arched an eyebrow at him with a soft smile playing at my lips.

"I would love to make that happen for you, if you do this for me."

There, all my cards were out on the table. All I had to do now was wait. I handed the paperwork over to him and watched as he skimmed through it. My heart was pounding in my ears and my hands were clammy from my nerves running away from me. Not only would this be a dream scenario for the millions of fans of the WWE, but it would also be one of mine. Slowly, Steve turned his attention back to me, his eyes alight with excitement. "Where do I sign?"

I had done it. Sting was officially coming to the WWE.

 **STING IS HERE! WOOOOO! I can't express enough how excited I am for this! The ball is rolling!**

 **Oh, and btw, that NXT Diva's invasion was so badass that I am forced to incorporate into the story. I mean, did you hear the reaction they got? I haven't heard a crowd reaction for a Diva like in YEARS! And Charlotte's figure eight is super impressive.**

 **And John is still John, giving me the feels. Gah! It's a long hard road to recover from something like that!**

 **Sorry, for the lack of Randy action in this chapter, but I had some ends to tie up without him. He'll play a bigger role next chapter!**

 **Thanks to** _ **kimberly316, KarlishaCullen, RKOsgirl92, Chermayne, guest, bingobaby, AngelsDestiny22 and FIRE-ICEROSE**_ **for the awesome reviews! KEEP THEM COMING! I love you guys!**


	6. On Dangerous Ground

**Chapter 6-** On Dangerous Ground

"Kids! Lunch time!" I yelled out, standing at the foot of the stairs. It was Sunday, the day before I had three of my storylines that I was personally invested in to start on Raw the following night. I was a bundle of nerves. And I loved it. This was the closest feeling I would ever get to flying through the clouds. I heard the soft rumble of commotion and I looked up to see Keith and Tiegan rushing towards the stairs, Randy coming in right behind them. In his arms, were our youngest children, Zackary and Mackenzie. They were giggling and clinging tightly to their father's neck. The smile on my face hurt. Well, there was one thing I loved more than my job. My family.

Together, Randy and I settled the kids down at the dining table, the twins in their highchairs and Keith and Tia next to one another, chowing down their chicken nuggets. Randy and I sat opposite them, watching the carefree ways of our children. I never got tired of staring at my kids. They all were little miracles. The pure fact that Randy and I had made each one from the love that brought us together caused an emotional lump to form in my throat. I was pulled from my trance when Randy slipped his hand over mine, lacing our fingers. I looked over at him, being caught staring at the four little Orton's. He leaned over and placed a loving kiss on my temple.

"Daddy, do you have to do that at the table? It's going to make me vomit," Keith said around a mouthful of nugget. I laughed and rolled my eyes at his words. He then turned his head to pretend to throw up on the floor when Randy kissed my cheek this time. Tia slapped her brother's forearm, throwing him a patented Randy-stare.

"Don' be mean, Keith," Tiegan said, but with her slightly impeded speech, 'Keith' came out sounding more like 'Keef'. "It's sweet."

"Thank you, Tia!" Randy exclaimed, motioning to his daughter. Keith rolled his eyes at his father, turning his attention to the twins. He started making faces at the twins, to get them to laugh. I watched Zack and Mack fall easily into laughter at their eldest sibling, all the while sneaking their nuggets down to the waiting black dog with white spots, Sting. He sat begging them between their two highchairs. It was then that I noticed that both twins had several small strings of what looked like yarn clinging to their clothes. I narrowed my eyes in my examination, finding out that it was the string from Tia's craft box.

"Randy, where did the twins get all that string?" Randy turned at my words, looking where I was staring at.

"I don't know, I found them in the playroom, and I didn't notice any of that in there," Randy said, and I stood up and went upstairs to investigate. I first went into the play room, and like Randy said, there wasn't anything in there. But before I went back downstairs, I decided to check their room. I walked down the hall and opened the door.

"Oh, my… God."

They had definitely gotten into the crafting string. All of it, it seemed. String hung from every possible surface in the room; chairs, toy boxes, TV stand, door knobs and window sills. The bars of both cribs had string crisscrossed through each space and hole. It looked like a spy movie and instead of a laser beam protective security, it was string. Colors of pink, blue, purple, green and red tinted the room. I couldn't even step into the room without threat of pulling a piece of furniture down by accidentally hitting a 'trip wire'. I went back to the top of the stairs, and called out for Randy to come upstairs. I felt the laughter building in my chest, but Randy just had to see this first.

His bounding footsteps met my ears and within seconds, he was standing in front of me. I said nothing, but pointed down the twins' room. Several seconds passed then I heard booming laughter fill the hallway and I went to join Randy's side. He was leaning against the door frame, holding himself up as he was keeled over in laughter.

"You know," he said, still laughing hard as he reached out and wrapped his arms around my waist tightly. "I knew it was too good to be true with Tia and Keith being such good kids."

"Yeah, the Twin Terrors' are trying to match the goodness with wickedness," I said, collapsing against him in my own laughter. The twin's definitely were going to be our little trouble makers.

oo

After the extensive clean up job that Randy and I had to go through to clear the string from Mack and Zackary's room, it was almost a relief to get the kids down for a nap. Well three-fourths of them. Keith was outside in the backyard playing on the playset with Tom. Genevieve had come over with her son shortly after the twins' passed out. The two of us sat in the living room while Randy went downstairs for a quick workout session.

"How's John doing?" Ginny asked, setting her glass of sweet tea on a coaster upon the coffee table. I sighed at his name. I hadn't spoken with him since my outburst, so I didn't know. Randy didn't mention anything to me about him, so for all I knew, Randy hadn't heard from him either.

"I don't know, and honestly, I think I made it worse when I saw him last," I admitted to her. I did feel terrible for my outburst, but not so much my words. I had meant what I said; I just wished I could have said them with a cooler head. And without the _screw you_ part. Genevieve went to open her mouth, when someone knocked hard on the door. I looked at her in confusion; we weren't expecting any company. I made my way to the door and pulled it open, only to come face to face with John himself. I almost asked him if his ears had been burning, but the look on his face told me he wasn't in a gaming mood. "What are you doing here John?"

"Nice to see you to Lora," he spat at me, his blue eyes burning with something I didn't recognize at first. I had nearly gotten used to seeing the blank expression on his face, but the presence of an emotion of any kind threw me off momentarily. Until I realized what that emotion was. Anger. And it seemed to be directed at me. I sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"Tell me, please, what you're doing with the NXT Divas?" His question threw me off. Why would even care, much less be angry, about something like that? I followed him into the kitchen after he stalked off that way. I noticed out of the corner of my eye Ginny following us. I did my best to hold my temper in check. I needed this meeting between us to go better than the last.

"It was really Paige's idea, but it's a Diva's revolution of the Raw's roster Stephanie asked me to create after I suggested something needed to change in their division," I said, speaking gently and clearly to make sure he could hear no contempt in my words. I still couldn't see why any of this would anger him. "I don't understand why any of that would make you this upset."

"Upset? No, I'm not upset, I'm pissed off!" John yelled at me, his voice hitting my eardrums so hard, it made me squint. He began to pace swiftly about my kitchen, and I wondered if I should be worried about the safety of my appliances and china. "You come into _my_ home, and tell me off for trying to erase her memory, and then I find out that _you're_ trying to replace her memory as a Diva! Trying to change everything in the division that she helped to create. Removing every mark she ever made!"

"Excuse me?" I gaped at him. My chin literally hung open in shock. That's what he thought I was doing? That's the conclusion he came to about my actions? I wasn't even sure that Superman himself could've made that leap. "I am _not_ doing this to _replace_ her! I'm doing this _because_ of her! For her!"

"Bullshit!" he barked at me. I balked at him, not even sure how to respond to him. The door to the basement next to me was yanked open, and Randy came running towards the sound of John's yelling. He looked between the two of us in confusion. What he saw was his wife and his best friend glaring daggers at one another, and I knew he was torn between the two of us. John unfortunately made his decision easier, by turning his anger Randy's way. "Did you know what she was doing? Is this how much either of you cared for her? To just write off her legacy as if it was nothing?!"

"Enough!"

I looked around at the sound of the voice and was mildly surprised to Genevieve stepping in front of me. I saw her look towards John, but then turned her attention towards the back door. My heart sunk when I followed her gaze.

Keith was standing in the door way, gaping at John. His Uncle John. His hero. Who had just been yelling furiously at his parents. I couldn't think of a time, before today, that Keith had ever seen John actually angry. He saw his on-screen anger, but that was nothing compared to this. And just when I thought Keith was going to start crying and run from the room, his face shifted from fear and shock, to his own version of angry. "Don't yell at my Mommy like that! That's mean Uncle John!"

John stilled and turned wide eyes towards his godson. His anger momentarily slipped from his face and was replaced by shame. I could tell that he felt bad. Not for yelling at me, but for doing it in front of Keith. Ginny walked over to my son, seeing that neither Randy nor I had a clue what to say to him. "Keith, go back out and play with Tom. Everything's going to be fine in here, I promise. I'm going to take care of everything."

Keith looked at Ginny, and nodded. But before he left the room, he threw John one last look of, what I could only describe as revulsion. It was the same look he had when his baseball team lost a game. Ginny shut the door after him and turned back to face the three of us.

"John, you really shouldn't be yelling at Lora like that when her kids are around. _Your_ god kids, by the way," she shot him a look of haughty derision. He turned to stare at her, as if seeing her for the first time in the room. "And you really shouldn't be yelling at Lora period. Not when your anger is so misplaced. What's she done is in honor of her best friend, not in spite of her."

"Oh, and you really know how I feel, then, do you?" John spat out at her, obviously regaining his anger. I gasped at his words. It was clear, that at this moment, John did not remember a conversation had in this very room a couple of weeks ago. Genevieve stepped right in front of him, placing her hands sturdy on her hips, glaring into his eyes.

"Yes, I do. I know that you're completely lost right now. It's like having both your legs cut off and you have to try to learn to walk again. Like there's a hole in your heart that only gets bigger with every passing second. You're trying desperately to find anything to hold on to that is not the reality that's facing you. You don't want to admit that she's really gone, because if you do, you finally accept the fact that she will never come home. So, you go around picking fights with the people you're closest to, just to feel _anything_ other than the agony of being alone in a house that is no longer a home," Ginny said, her cheeks flushing over with emotion and her voice wavering only slightly. Her words had stunned John into silence again. She cleared her throat softly and tried to discreetly wipe the lone tear rolling down her cheek. "At least that's exactly how I felt when my husband was killed."

Her words pulled at my heartstrings and I wanted nothing more than to go to Randy. But I didn't want to seem to be in bad taste, clinging to my perfectly healthy and alive husband, when the two people in front of me had lost their spouses. I felt like I would be rubbing it in their faces, or something. I knew it was silly, but I settled for just hugging my arms around myself. John fumbled for words to say and he started to speak and stopped several times.

"I-I'm sorry. I… forgot."

"I noticed," Genevieve spat out at him, with a little bit of venom in her words. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, calming herself. When she opened her eyes again, they were much less angry. "Look, this isn't going to be easy on you. But you have to remember, that there are others that are hurting just like you. It may not feel like they are hurting as bad as you, but that doesn't make their pain any less important. And you don't want to end up pushing them away. Because when you pull through this, and you will come out of this, you don't want to be alone when you do."

"Does this, pain, ever go away?" John whispered, his voice cracking. My heart tugged despite his recent words for me. Ginny heard his tone and her face soften into a sympathetic look. She frowned softly before a fleeting smile graced her lips.

"It lessens, but it never really goes away. But it does get easier to manage."

oo

I came back down the stairs a few hours later, fully prepared to start fixing dinner for the kids. John had left shortly after Genevieve had put him in his place. He hadn't said anything to me after her words. He hadn't apologized but he didn't continue in his rant either. For which I was thankful, because Keith was still very upset with him. He wouldn't even go to him for a good-bye hug. He stood at my side, his arm curled around my hips, staring with contempt at his godfather. I could tell that John was upset with how Keith had reacted to him, but what did he expect? Keith was his father made over when it came to me. Ever the protector.

I stepped into the kitchen and froze when I saw my sister-in-law standing over the stove, stirring a pot of macaroni and cheese. Becky turned around at the sound of my entrance, and came over to hug me tight. "Becky? What are you doing here?"

"Randy asked me to come watch the kids for a few hours," I stared at her in confusion, wondering why he would do that. It wasn't like we were leaving until tomorrow. And even then, Raw was just in Springfield, IL, and that was only an hour and a half drive. "He told me to give you this, too."

She handed me a piece of paper and went back to her cooking. I fingered the slip between my hands, unfolding it slowly. There, hand-written by Randy, was a small note.

 _Come outside and meet me._

Meet him? I couldn't help the smile on my face as I saw Becky smirk in my direction when I headed for the front door. I didn't know what he could mean, meet him outside? But when I opened the door, I knew instantly. There, sitting in our driveway once again was our RV. I rolled my eyes and headed over. After punching in the security code, I stepped onto the bus. All the lights had been switched off, but I could still see around me. Because Randy had lit a series of candles that led back into the bedroom we shared when aboard. My heart thumped in my chest as I followed the glowing, flickering light to the back.

I pushed the door out of my way and saw several dozens more candles, lit, and placed on every stationary surface. Spinning in a slow circle, I took in everything. The soft scent of lavender and coconut permeated the room, apparently coming from the candles. I heard another soft click, and I saw Randy coming from the bathroom. I arched an eyebrow as he sat down on the bed, in the middle of the mattress and motioned for me to join him silently. I did as he requested and waited for him to speak.

"I know this hasn't been a very easy time for you," Randy said, his voice low and his rumbling tone washed over me, sending a shiver down my spine. He was staring at me with burning blue eyes. But this time, the look I saw was not the same fire I saw in John's blue orbs. This, what I saw at this moment, was passion and love. He reached over and took one of my hands in his.

"You make it all easier to get through, as long as I'm with you," I whispered back to him, meaning every single word. While the world outside seemed to burning to the ground in ashes around me, I felt like everything would be okay as long as I could have Randy's arms around me. Randy smiled at me, rubbing the pad of his thumb across my knuckles. That simple action caused goosebumps to erupt up my arm.

"I was planning on giving this to you tomorrow, for a spectacular job well done, but," he said, reaching behind him with his other hand and pulled out a skinny rectangular velveteen box from underneath a bed pillow. My breath caught in my throat as he let go of my other hand and grasped the box with both of his. "But after the day you had today, I felt like you could use some cheering up now."

He pinched the lid with his thumb and forefinger and pried the box open. I gasped when I saw what was nestled in the cushions. It was beautiful diamond pendant, in the shape of a heart. The main heart-shaped stone was a deep emerald green, and if I knew Randy, it was a real emerald. Surrounding the green stone were small diamonds that outlined the same shape as the green. It hung on a very delicate looking chain. I slowly ran my fingers lightly over the piece of jewelry. I looked into Randy's eyes. I could see that he was waiting for my response. So I gave it to him. I propped on my knees and lurched forward to capture his lips with mine. My next words were whispered against his lips. "It's gorgeous."

"It's the same color as your eyes."

My heart did flips as I carefully pulled my new necklace from its case. I turned around and sat with my back to Randy's chest, in between his legs. I pulled my hair to one side and held the chain out to him. He smiled at my unasked question and slowly put the necklace around my neck, fastening it in the back. When he was done, he wrapped his arms tight around my waist as I picked up the green heart to stare down at it. His next words set my body on fire. "Now, I'm going to make love to you in this. And only this."

And before I could respond, Randy moved and I was lying on my back with him hovering above me. It was clear to me now why Randy had asked his sister to come play baby-sitter to our kids now. He wanted my complete and undivided attention. And I was just fine with that. Heat rushed in between my legs in an instant. I moaned into his mouth when he kissed me hard. He sat back suddenly and yanked my shirt off roughly before pushing me back down into the pillows.

"Promise you won't complain," Randy demanded softly at me, and I didn't know what he meant. Until he pulled out a silk blindfold from under the same pillow that had hid the necklace. My mouth went dry staring at the black cloth. I didn't complain, only licked my lips in anticipation as I allowed Randy to cover my eyes and tie the slick material behind my head. I was completely over taken by the sudden darkness.

But with my sight gone, all my other senses kicked into over drive. I could smell everything much stronger and Randy's cologne took over that sensation. Every little sound now seemed amplified, and I was sure that I could even hear Randy's thudding heartbeat. I heard as he moved down the bed and I heard when his breath would catch in his throat.

I actually groaned out when I felt Randy's hands lightly graze over the top of my jean shorts. Not being able to see when he was going to touch me, made every feather light caress sing throughout my body. He popped the button and slowly pulled down the zipper. But Randy stopped before actually removing the clothing. I grunted in frustration, and I heard as his soft laughter left his lips. My hands felt useless, laying out on the mattress, as I tried to hold on to the sheets to keep a grip on my reality. The bed shifted and I felt Randy move to straddle my hips with his knees. I shivered when his hands returned to the skin of my stomach, drawing delicate and delicious designs across my flesh. My back arched off the bed to allow his hands to slip behind me, unclasping my bra.

Randy pulled gently and I moved my arms to grant him permission to remove it and I heard as it hit a wall somewhere in the room. Randy's weight came over me, and his bare chest connected with mine, as he stole my lips in a fiery kiss. I had felt Randy's skin on mine countless times, but this was different. With every other sense piqued, his skin was like hot coals against me, and I wanted nothing more than to let him burn me up. I circled my arms around his neck as his kisses attacked my jaw and down to my neck. The wet trails of his kisses caught the slight breeze in the room and the sensation was intoxicating.

"Randy!" I gasped out roughly when his lips closed around my chest. I could _feel_ everything more than ever before. His hot mouth and coarse tongue as it swirled around the taut skin. I let one hand fall from his back and grasp desperately at the bedding. I couldn't believe how this was making me feel. My senses were on over load, even with one removed. He showed identical attention to my other breast and I could hear my ragged breath echo in the room. Slowly, he slipped further down my body, dipping his tongue quickly and gently into my belly button.

I almost cried out in appreciation when I felt his fingers finally dip into the waistband of my shorts. The graze of the rough material sliding down my legs bristled against my skin. Randy's lips feathered over every inch of skin as he moved the material off my lower half. All that I was left in were the panties that now felt like they weighed a ton, encasing me, blocking me from Randy's exquisite touch. He licked and caressed his way back up each of my legs, and I was writhing beneath him when I felt his face brush against the thin barrier. He slowly kissed me through my panties, before added them to a pile of clothes on the floor that I could not see. His hot breath hitting my aching center had my head thrown back in the pillows behind me.

Then all presence of his body was gone. But just because I couldn't feel him didn't mean that I couldn't hear him. The distinct sound of a zipper being pulled met my ears, followed quickly with rustling sound as a pair of jeans hit the floor. Then Randy was back over me, and I could feel his arousal pressing against me as his lips hovered over my ear.

"You are the most beautiful thing that I have ever laid my eyes on. And you are mine. You will always be mine. Forever," and without waiting for a response, his hand moved between us, adjusting himself, and he thrust into me. I almost lost it then. My body and nervous system was wound so tight that the sudden feel of him completely taking over me caught my groan in my throat and my legs came around his hips.

It wasn't rough nor was it rushed. His thrusts were slow and deliberate. Randy wanted me to feel everything. That was the point, after all, for the blindfold. And did I ever. I could only relate this feeling to the first time we had ever had sex. It was new and exciting and I loved every sinful second of it. Randy buried his face into my neck and I heard his whispered streams of loving words at me, as he would pull out and back into me. I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly, holding onto the back of his head with one hand. The necklace that he had gotten me rested in the hollow of my throat at the base of my neck. It was hot against my skin after absorbing all of my body heat. My eyes popped open and stars erupted against the material of the blindfold as I was driven over the edge, breathing out his name again and brought him into the abyss with me.

oo

"That's a beautiful necklace," I was pulled from my trance to see the girls I had chosen for the revolution approaching me. I looked down to see that I had been absentmindedly fingering the green stone that hung from my neck. A blush tried to creep up my cheeks as I smiled back at Charlotte.

"Thank you, it was a gift from my husband," I commented, quickly letting it go to dangle back in its place. I had a job to do, and it wouldn't do any good to let my mind go down that road at the moment. I shook my head and turned to see Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks fully suited up in their ring gear, and prepared to change the future of women's wrestling. "Are you girls ready to make history?"

They all smiled and nodded enthusiastically. I smiled brightly at them, being almost as excited as they were. My heart tugged slightly when I thought of how proud Casie would be of this next segment. I cut my eyes to the live feed to see 'Team Bella', consisting of Nikki, Brie and Alicia Fox, cutting a promo in the ring. We all stood at the gorilla station, with Paige behind me. I had it written that she would go out, saying how disappointed she was in the current Raw roster of Diva's, and that she had to pay a visit to a few old friends for back up.

Becky Lynch and Charlotte would team up with her, but I had a different plan for Sasha Banks. I turned to my right and saw Naomi and Tamina Snuka standing off to themselves. I wanted to include them in this revolution, because I thought that they had real talent, and just hadn't been given the chance to showcase it. So, Team Bella would not only get one team to compete with tonight, but two, as Sasha would temporarily side with the duo.

"Okay! Listen up!" I called out, and got all the attention from the six women surrounding me. "Paige is about to go out there and call out for you two. This is it! Give everything you got. Do not step back through this curtain until you've left everything you can out there. If I am correct in my thinking, the crowd will put you all over. Kick some ass and show the world that you aren't just a bunch of pretty faces to stare at between the men's matches!"

Paige went out when it was her cue, and confronted the women in the ring. She did her thing, calling out the Diva's in the ring for their ineptitude. Then, one by one, she called out her new team mates. Becky was first, and she ran out, throwing her hair around in a fiery haze and the crowd went wild. Goosebumps formed over my forearms at the reaction. The smile on my face hurt as Paige called for Charlotte. The audience called out for her with "Woo" chants, shades of her father. Even her entrance music was a faster paced version of his. I pointed to Tamina and Naomi to hit their mark. And while they didn't get quite the same pop as the two newest Diva's, when it came for Sasha Banks to debut, the roof came off the place.

I snuck up and peaked through the curtain, preferring to watch the real thing and not the screen. It didn't take long for all nine women to enter into a brawl with the Universe chanting about how awesome what they were seeing was. Adrenaline pumped rapidly through my veins. And when Charlotte, Becky and Sasha had every member of Team Bella in a submission hold in the middle of the ring, the crowd starting cheering for NXT. The symbolism was beyond phenomenal.

The spot ended and all the girls reemerged in the back with me. I didn't fail to notice that Brie, Nikki nor Alicia Fox stopped to say anything to me. They weren't exactly thrilled with my storyline, but they had no choice. Stephanie ordered them to go along with it. The three newest Raw Diva's laughed and screamed in excitement and I was overcome by their emotion. They weren't in this business for the money. They weren't in it for the recognition. They were in it for sport itself. Each one of the three girls had the passion that was sorely needed. I knew right then and there, that I had made the perfect choice in these women.

I congratulated them and sent them on their way to do their own celebrating. I was staying behind to make sure my other two stories went off without a hitch. While a match between Kofi Kingston and Darren Young played out in the ring, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned to see John approaching me slowly. I stiffened, not even in the mood to have him bust my bubble. But I kept my mouth shut as he stopped in front of me. I didn't know if I should say anything, but before I could make up my mind, John spoke first.

"I'm sorry, Lora," John said softly, and my heart stopped beating for a fraction of second. I blinked at him stupidly in response. "I should not have spoken to you as I did yesterday. And especially after seeing what you just did now. I can see that you would do it for her. And I know that Casie would be very proud of you."

That was the first time I had heard him speak her name since she died. Tears welled in my eyes and threw my arms around his neck. I knew that all was forgiven between the two of us, when his arms closed tightly around me. When he pulled away, his eyes were dusty and I knew that he was close to crying himself. I placed a hand on his bicep. "Thank you."

"Lora," I turned at the sound of my name and I saw Stephanie making her way quickly to me, with Randy and Paul, following right behind her. I didn't notice when John slunk back into the shadows and disappeared. I smiled coyly at Paul when he winked at me and stepped through the curtain to his entrance music. And Randy had a match after Triple H's promo, with Kane. But the look on Stephanie's face made my heart expand painfully. She was beaming at me with such pride, it oozed from her. "Did you _hear_ that reaction the NXT girls got? I mean, I knew it was going to be entertaining, but that was almost a main event quality reaction. No, it _was_ a main event quality match reaction! I am so proud of you. You did it! The Divas are finally relevant again!"

I was at a loss for words when her arms closed tightly around me. I looked to Randy to see the same pride that closed my throat shining form his eyes. She released me when her phone began to jingle and quickly answered a call from her father. I turned back to watch Paul banter with the crowd to boos and jeers and I felt Randy's arms come around me tightly. I leaned back into him and we both watched as Triple H faltered in his speech as something fell from the rafters. A small black something landed in the ring, bouncing slightly. When Triple H knelt to investigate, it was clear that it was a black feathered crow. Then, without warning, fifty more replica crows fell into the ring, falling all over Paul and hitting him, making him keel over backwards, staring in utter confusion towards the ceiling. Randy's arms squeezed me gently as the screen went black and Triple H left the arena after a busted promo.

"I know what you're doing here Lora," Paul said, thrusting a fake crow in my direction. I raised my eyebrow at him, but said nothing. I wasn't giving anything away yet, not without knowing exactly what he thought I was doing. "Setting me up to face Bray Wyatt. But I don't see how that story line is going to play out. But, I'm game!"

I stared at him with wide eyes as he sauntered away, scaring people with the rubber bird as he went. I bit back my giggle at his oh-so-wrong assumption. But I felt Randy lean down behind me, putting his lips to my ear. I shivered against him, my mind going straight back to last night. "I know what you're _really_ doing here Lora."

I turned in his arms, and looked up at him with innocent eyes. "What? You don't like my Bray Wyatt storyline?"

"First of all, his bird of choice is a buzzard," Randy began, pulling me flush against his body. I huffed in surprise, but I didn't break his eye contact. "Secondly, I saw the mask in the cedar chest in the weight room."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, dear husband of mine," I said in a sing-song voice, but smiled wickedly at him. Randy had caught me, but I knew he would at least keep this under his hat for me. I pushed him away from me and forced him to go out through the curtain for his match. I heard his laughter even over his music.

"This is bullshit!" A loud and angry voice echoed from behind me. I turned on the spot to see Brock Lesnar fuming about with a worried Paul Heyman chasing him behind. Running over to the spot where he finally stood still, I looked between the two of them.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, Vince doesn't want my client to lay a hand on Seth tonight," Paul said, casting a contemptuous look in my direction. I scoffed at his look, but turned to my eyes to a seething Beast. Paul continued to speak for Brock, because if I was to guess correctly, Lesnar wouldn't be able to string together a coherent sentence in his anger. "Brock doesn't see the point of his being here tonight if he isn't allowed to act."

"What exactly did Vince say to you?"

"He said Brock was not to put his hands on Seth Rollins," Heyman said slowly, as if I was mentally challenged. I rolled my eyes at his tone.

"He specifically said Seth Rollins? And only Rollins?"

Brock nodded curtly at me and I turned back to stare at the screen, getting lost in thought. I had to come up with something to placate the Beast, or risk punishment from Vince. But as I stared at the screen, I saw something I hadn't noticed before. There was a beautiful black car, a fifty five thousand dollar Cadillac, trimmed in gold. Seth Rollins' colors. It had been a 'gift' from the Authority. Turning on the spot, I searched for some inspiration. Finally, my eyes landed on a large red box. I hurried over to it, undoing the latches and lifted the lid. What I saw inside made me smile evilly. It was my job to keep Brock happy and controlled, and I had a brilliant idea. After all, it was common knowledge that in the WWE you don't bring a car into the arena and expect it to be safe. Hell, Vince had had a car filled with cement by Steve Austin and I knew that D-Generation X had destroyed their fair share of transportation. And even Randy had a few gifted cars destroyed before. I motioned for Brock to follow me and, surprisingly, he did. I pointed into the box and both he and Heyman peered into it and both smiled as deviously as I felt. I pointed my finger at Brock.

"Brock, smash!"

oo

Seth Rollins and his 'J & J' security were out in the ring, spewing about how he wasn't afraid of Lesnar and what he had planned to do to Brock if he appeared. I turned and cued Brock to enter the arena. He was supposed to act like he was going to ring, but changes his mind half way down the ramp. I slipped through a side curtain and into the side of the arena, remaining unnoticed, by the pyrotechnic station. Paul soon walked over to me, and smiled at me as he wheeled the red trunk towards his client.

The crowd went insane when Broke opened the trunk and brought out two black-handled axes. He heaved them up on his shoulders and stared down the three men in the ring. As if daring them to stop him. They fumed about in the ring, screaming threats in Brock's direction, but didn't dare leave the ropes. Brock meandered slowly over towards the black car and the audience grew to a fever pitch. They seemed to know what was coming next.

Brock dropped one axe to the ground as he kicked the front door with his large foot and then, quickly, buried the axe still in his hand into the metal paneling of the car. It sliced through like butter. But Brock wasn't done. He reached for the other axe and smashed the window of the backdoor, sending glass shards everywhere, then made quick work of the rear window as well, the crowd cheering him on. With the axe on his shoulder, he turned back to stare into the ring. I could hear Heyman singing his praises over the roar of the crowd.

Brock began hacking away at the car, busting out the front door window and hitting the roof of the car, causing as much damage as he was physically possible to do. This, in his case, was quite a lot. When he spun around, he had a gleeful wickedly grin that split his face in two. I laughed despite myself. I have always been, and will always be, a fan before I am a creative writer. Seth was screaming in the ring, kicking at the ropes and having a tantrum.

Lesnar turned his attention to the back quarter panel of the car, and began swinging away like he was Paul Bunyan chopping down a large oak. I heard as the tire popped and air began to leak out rapidly. He then walked around to the trunk and began smashing away at it, until the axe head embedded into the metal and stuck. Casting his eyes back to the ring, Brock opened the rear passenger door, laughing as if he was having a good time. And he probably was.

"Holy shit," I whispered as Brock threw all his weight into the door and it was yanked from the hinges and fell the cement floor. The crowd seemed to have the same reaction I did because I could barely hear myself think. He lifted the door from the ground by the lip at the top and brought it crashing back down the floor. Then he picked it up, and as if he was an Olympian in the shot put games, chunking the door about fifty yards away from the car with ease.

It was at this time that Joey and Jamie came running up the ramp, with plain axe handles, no blades, and attempted to stop Brock. Lesnar tossed Joey like he was rag doll, but Jamie got a hit on Brock on his back. But it barely fazed him and in a flash, Brock had Jamie in his Kimora lock against the car, easily putting him out of commission. Then, as Seth stared in horror, Lesnar suplexed Joey in the windshield of the car, and the glass broke in a spider web pattern. Brock climbed up on top of the car, and pointed towards Rollins in the ring, signaling that he was next.

 **WOOOO! That was so exciting! I have watched that video of Brock smashing that car, like, a thousand times.. so badass! I love it! I know that there was so much in this chapter, so many feels, happy, sad, the coveted sexy times and some super badass Raw scenes! I hope the intro to bringing sting in was good enough.. I promise, he'll make his story debut soon! But I want to get it perfect. My favorite of all time(sorry Randy! You are a very close second though!) deserves nothing but the best!**

 **And I'll take the lack of reviews from the last chapter as a sign that everyone was so distraught over John that they didn't remember to comment! LOL jk!**

 **Oh, and btdubs, that string thing at the beginning with the twins, that was from an actual experience I had with two of my nieces. Except it was the screened in back porch! I can promise you that I was NOT exaggerating the details one bit! LOL**

 **Merci to Thanks to** _ **kimberly316, KarlishaCullen, RKOsgirl92, Chermayne, guest, bingobaby, AngelsDestiny22 and FIRE-ICEROSE**_ **for the reviews so far! Please,** _ **please¸**_ **keep them coming!**


	7. The Crow

**Bingobaby- SOOO JEALOUS! I would've killed to see him up close and personal! Instead, I settled for my TV screen, sitting on the couch wearing my own white Sting mask (not those new ones that WWE came up with, but the actual good quality kind back from WCW). I didn't care that I looked silly!**

 **A few notes from Battleground: I was happy to see the Undertaker return, but that being said, why couldn't they have waited until Brock became champion?! Now, Seth Rollins is as insufferable as he ever was. GRR! And I might just have to put Lana in my story, because, I just LOVE her! And John, Randy and Cesaro's reaction to her tearing Summer Rae up outside the ring, teheheh.. and that slingshot into an RKO was pretty PIMP!**

 **Chapter 7-** The Crow

Finally, it was the weekend before Survivor Series. Just two days remained before two of the biggest storylines I would ever write came to a head. And the jitters never left my system. Now that Randy knew what I was up to, I caught him smirking at me when he would catch me deep in thought. Causing me to just roll my eyes at him. Two weeks had passed since Brock had destroyed Rollins' car, Sting's crows had scared Triple H and the NXT Divas had changed the face of the women's division. And the ratings hadn't sky-rocketed like they had since the Attitude Era. Vince was, as I predicted, singing my praises. Nothing could take this from me.

"Mommy, are you going to let us come to the arena today?" I looked down at my oldest son, being pulled from my thoughts. Keith plopped down on the couch in the bus next to me. My kids had arrived yesterday, when Bob and Elaine had brought them. Something that was Randy's idea. He said that he wanted the whole family here to watch Mommy's success. The smile on my face had hurt my cheeks at his words. I smiled down at my son.

"Yes, son, you can come."

I laughed as I watch him punch the air in excitement. We all had to be at the arena today, to get everything prepared for the events in two short nights. Randy had to meet up with Glen Jacobs, or Kane as he was most famously known by, and Jamie and Joey for last minute prep for their three-on-one handicap match. Randy, of course, would lose and get 'hurt', putting him out for two weeks. And I had to meet up with Brock and Heyman, and Steve, who was hiding somewhere in the building.

After another hour or so of fixing breakfast for my kids, Bob and Elaine showed up to take Mack and Zack on a tour of the arena with them. I thanked them profusely, because the day care service Vince usually provided wasn't functioning today. Which left Randy and I to handle Keith and Tia on our own. Which was fine. They, like their parents, thrived in this business. While I already knew I couldn't hold Keith back from following in his father's footsteps, it seemed Tiegan was just as determined. She had this infatuation with Paige. It might have been the blue streaks she had in her hair. Blue was her favorite color, after all.

Once my in-laws left with the twins, Randy and I made our way to arena with our two superstars-in-training. After we entered the arena, Randy kissed my cheek and headed off in the other direction, with Tia in tow. Keith decided to hang around with me, but I think it was just because he knew who I was about to meet. Keith worshipped Brock. I smiled down at him as he bounced with his steps, for once allowing me to hold his hand in guidance. He was usually too 'grown up' for such things. I sighed, thinking that my son was growing up way too quickly for my liking. It felt like just yesterday, I was bringing him home from the hospital, so tiny and needed me for everything.

There were several superstars in the arena already, doing their own preparation for Sunday's events. We passed Alexander Rusev on our way. While I knew that Rusev wasn't his real name, his actual name was Bulgarian in origin, and way too difficult for me to pronounce. I knew, being from the southern state of Georgia, that I would just butcher it if I tried; so I stuck to referring to him by his ring name. We rounded another corner and I saw the newest Raw Diva, Charlotte, talking to another platinum blond, and Keith began patting my leg hard. "Mommy! Look! It's Ric Flair!"

At the sound of his name, Ric turned to see Keith running in his direction before I could grab him back. I laughed at his actions as I hurried behind him. Ever since the Network became to be, Keith watched everything that his Daddy suggested for him. He was a fan for the glory days, just as much as he was for the current generation. Proof of the love that ran deep in his blood. But he had a special love for Ric, because of his days spent with Randy in a group called 'Evolution'.

"Oh my goodness! You are just the cutest thing!" Charlotte said, kneeling down to take a better look at my son. I felt my chest puff proudly at her words towards my son, as any parent would. Keith grumbled only slightly at being called 'cute'. He didn't believe that boys should be 'cute'. I looked at Ric and rolled my eyes, laughing lightly.

"Who are you?" Keith asked, staring at the woman in front of him. She picked him up in his arms and I was surprised when he didn't resist. But he was just using her to get closer to Ric. I laughed as he wanted to be passed to the older man. Flair laughed loudly and gladly accepted my boy in his arms.

"My name is Charlotte. And he is my Daddy," she said, pointing to her father. Keith's eyes went wide and stared between to the blonds. He was clearly impressed. "I'm also a wrestler here."

"My Daddy is a wrestler too!" Keith exclaimed, as if neither of them knew his parentage. I covered my mouth, hiding my giggle. Charlotte played along with him, pretending to gape at him in shock. Keith nodded proudly at her. "Mhm, Randy Orton! And I'm going to be just like him when I grow up!"

"Then you'll be one fearsome opponent then!" Ric exclaimed, hoisting my son higher in his arms. "You'll have to promise me a match when you get in the business!"

The look Keith gave Ric was priceless. He looked at him incredulously, almost as if he wasn't sure he was serious. Ric then poked his side, causing him to fall into giggles. "You got it!"

"Come on Keith, we've got work to do," I said, watching as he slid down from Ric's arms and back to my side. I hugged both Charlotte and Ric before we continued our trek through the arena. Finally, we made it to Brock's dressing room. I knocked before pushing the door out of the way, letting Keith enter first.

I saw Brock and Paul sitting on a black leather couch against one wall of the room. We must have interrupted a conversation, because they both looked up from each other at the sound of our entry. And when Keith saw the big man, he clammed up and stood slightly behind my legs. I smirked at my son and sat down in the folding metal chair across from the two men. Keith didn't hesitate before climbing into my lap. I turned my attention away from my son to focus on Brock. "So, any questions about tomorrow night?"

"No, I've got it all down," Brock said, a slight smile crossing his face when he looked at my son. He was a father himself after all. He had a soft spot for small children. "I just have a feeling that I'm going to be screwed."

"Not if I can help it," I laughed, thinking that he had every right to be paranoid. There were several higher ups that were not pleased with my decision. Pat Patterson being the ring leader. But Vince had spoken and was behind me. But before anyone else could speak up, Keith got over his shyness and hopped down from my lap and walked over to Brock, staring at him with wide eyes. Brock looked down at him, raising an eyebrow with amusement in his eyes.

"Did you really break Undertaker's streak?" Keith asked, with awe in his voice. I caught Heyman's eye and turned my head, smiling at my son's antics. I saw Brock nod proudly and Keith's mouth popped open. His little eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. "But… wasn't it scary? I mean, I know you're big and stuff, but he's…" Keith stammered and his voice lowered to a whisper, "the _Undertaker_."

I saw Brock bite his cheek to keep from smiling. I had to cough to mask my laughter that bubbled in my chest. The big man rubbed his cheek a little in mock-thought, and finally answered the little red head. "Well, he was sort of intimidating, but you forget one thing. I am the _Beast_. And beast's never run from a fight."

Keith nodded with a look of understanding, looking very grown up in his actions. He favored his father so much in times like this. My heart expanded in my chest, my fingers grazing over the green heart-stone hanging from my neck. He hopped up on the couch between the two men, and fell into a conversation about wrestling. Brock humored him, and a new found respect for the big guy formed within me. Any person to show my son respectful attention earned points in my book. I was pulled from my thoughts when I heard the door open again, behind me. I turned at saw Steve Borden, cloaked in a big jacket, ball cap and sunglasses. I almost laughed at his incognito appearance.

"Mommy, who is that?" Keith's voice asked, and I turned to look at my son. Steve locked the door and took off his excess clothing, revealing himself. Brock and Heyman watched in interest as Steve pulled a chair to sit next to me.

"He's a wrestler too, honey, but you wouldn't recognize him without his face paint," I said, motioning for my son to come stand by my side. He did as I wished and gazed intently at the new occupant to the room. "Babe, this is Mr. Steve. But you know him better as 'Sting'."

Keith gasped loudly, looking from me to the man before him, eyes wide. He knew exactly who he was. While Randy showed our son his favorites on the Network, so did I. Keith had seen many matches with Sting main-eventing them. He knew how much I loved him.

"Like, your favorite of all time?" I smiled as he repeated my phrase word for word, and nodded at him. Steve and Brock chuckled at his astonishment. Keith then started to babble about one match in particular that I had showed him, when Sting faced off against Hulk Hogan for the WCW championship. "And how you just stood right back up after he got you with a suplex! Awesome!"

"What can I say?" I said, shrugging after seeing the shocked and amused look on Steve's face as my six year old described a match that happened fourteen years before he was even born. "Between Randy and I, he never stood a chance. But Keith, this is a top secret story Mommy's working on. I need you to not say anything to anyone about him being here. Daddy knows, and Brock and Mr. Heyman do too, but no one else, you understand?"

"Yes ma'am," he said, a solemn and professional look on his face. The same look he had two years ago during his run in a storyline with his father. I smiled again at him, ruffling his hair, before getting down to business and discussing Sting's WWE debut.

oo

Randy and I arrived at the arena early the next morning. Today was the day, and I was beyond pumped. The electricity in the air hummed around me, though I doubt anyone else but Randy felt it. Sting was here, somewhere in the arena and he would enter a WWE ring for the first time, ever. Just thinking about it, gave me goosebumps.

"I have a surprise for you!" Randy said, after an hour of sitting in his dressing room. Our kids were still on board the RV outside, and wouldn't come in until later in the evening. Randy laughed hard when I told him of his son's antics yesterday. Between meeting up with Ric Flair and hanging out with Brock Lesnar and Steve Borden. The look in his eye as he laughed when I told him how Keith had asked Brock if he was scared showed amusement, but I could also see something that could only be described as joy. It was definitely something to behold when your child, your flesh and blood, falls head over heels in love for something you hold dear. I smiled at my husband as he pulled me off the couch and out of his door. It didn't take long before I knew that we were headed in the direction of the ring stage.

He pulled me through the curtain, and we stopped, standing on the stage. The first thing I noticed was musical instruments. A full set of drums, a bass guitar and several other guitars propped up on their stands. Three microphone stands were lined up in front of the ramp. I was about to ask Randy what was going on, when I heard voices coming from stage right. I turned to look and saw four men walking towards us. They were all dressed in various forms of black, with a certain punk rock look to them. I knew them instantly. Pete Wentz, Patrick Stump, Joe Trohman and Andy Hurley, otherwise known as the rock band, Fall Out Boy, were here in the arena. I gasped and clung to Randy's forearm. I heard him chuckle softly. I had almost forgotten that the theme song for Survivor Series was in fact, "Immortals", from their newest album. Vince must have them here to preform it live for tonight's event. Once the four of them were on the stage with us, Randy pulled me towards them.

"Hey man," Pete said, grasping Randy's hand like an old friend, and bumping chests with him. Or he at least tried too. Pete couldn't have been taller than me when I was wearing flat shoes. "Is this Lora?"

I stopped in my tracks, and turned to stare dumbfounded at my husband. Before I could ask, Patrick laughed softly and spoke up. "We met him yesterday, when we arrived at the arena. He told us you were a huge fan of ours."

I blushed slightly, smiling back at the man that was definitely shorter than me by at least two inches. My heart thumped in my chest as I raised an eyebrow at Randy. "I made Tia promise not to say anything to you."

"Oh man! That girl was just the funniest!" the taller man, Joe, laughed. And he went into a story about Tiegan describing her favorite song of theirs, which she sweetly called the "Monsters" song. She didn't realize that I had said "Munsters" and she just stuck with that name. But then she wanted them to play another one of her favorites, which was not a song of theirs at all. But, according to Randy, the Boy's had in fact played "All About That Bass". I laughed loudly, wrapping an arm around my husband, when Pete imitated how Tia had danced around.

"Well, Randy is right. I am a huge fan of yours! Have been even before the 'Under the Corktree' album," I gushed, going on to name a few songs that I loved before the album that made them famous worldwide. They all looked around at each other, obviously humbled. I still couldn't believe I was meeting these guys. Being a part of the WWE had endless perks.

"Well, it's always cool to meet hardcore fans," Joe said, and the other three boys nodded in agreement. I noticed Pete pulling something out of his pocket, and he handed me a couple of pieces of paper

"Here, as a gift from us, two tickets to our next show in Panama City Beach. It's in a week and a half," he said. I gaped at him, unmoving. I didn't know what to say. But Randy took them from Pete, thanking him for me. I finally regained my composure as few stage hands came through the curtain, distracting me momentarily. Before we left, I had Randy take my picture with them. Two boys on each side of me.

When I pulled Randy back through the curtain, and out of sight from the band, I wrapped my arms around his neck, jumping into his arms. He caught me on instinct alone, and I locked my ankles behind his back. I crushed my lips against his as he laughed softly at my actions.

"I love you."

oo

Survivor Series started, airing first with Fall Out Boy opening the night, playing the theme for the pay per view. I had snuck out, standing where I did when I watched Brock destroy Seth's car. When they were done, the first match started. I made my way to my seat by Lillian Garcia. On my way, I saw Bob Orton sitting with Keith and Tia at the corner of the barricade between the ramp and the ring. I knew Elaine had the twins backstage, in Randy's locker room. They were too young to be ringside and be easily managed, but they refused to stay in the RV when Keith and Tia were getting to go. I smiled, looking back my oldest children. They had on new wrestling shirts, no doubt given to them back stage. Tia was wearing Charlotte's blue shirt with the words, "If you're going to do it, do it with Flair!". Though I doubt Tiegan knew what the words meant. She probably just chose it because the shirt itself was blue. Keith was wearing a "Beast Incarnate" shirt. I was mildly surprised neither one of them were wearing their father's shirt. I wondered how long Randy would pout about that.

Smiling at Lillian, I took the seat next to her. She had always been so nice to me, and I absolutely adored her. Always had. It was easy talking to her when she wasn't announcing matches. I watched proudly when the triple threat Divas match started, watching Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Brie Bella face off. And it was nothing but impressive. The arena, including myself, erupted when Charlotte tapped Brie out with her patented Figure Eight. Somewhere in the back, I had a feeling a very proud Ric Flair was watching. His daughter had just competed and won her first WWE pay per view match.

I sat through several other matches, watching as Roman Reigns squared off against Kevin Owens, a new edition to the Raw roster from NXT. I didn't know much about him, but I knew he was definitely a heel. So, the fan side of me disliked him instantly. Though, I had to admit, he was impressive. Sheamus defeated Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Championship. Although, whoever designed the red headed Irishman's new look should be fired. His flaming red locks were shaved into a Mohawk, and his beard was braided, not unlike Johnny Depp's in Pirates of the Caribbean. Though, Johnny could pull it off. Sheamus just looked, to put it in the words the Universe kept chanting, stupid.

Randy's match was hard to watch. I knew that he wasn't actually going to get hurt, but he played it off so well. The numbers game quickly turned on Randy when the bell rang. Jamie and Joey kept Randy grounded as Kane just demolished him. But Randy being Randy, he did get a few good spurts of offensive in. But it just wasn't going to be enough. He ended up laying sprawled out on the arena floor after Kane tombstoned him twice onto the steel steps, giving him his 'concussion'. I saw from my seat that Keith and Tia booed at Kane as he sauntered back up the ramp. Tia was now old enough to know that Randy was just playing a game. A time, not long ago, she would've been upset to see her father hauled out on a stretcher, but she knew better now.

My heart leapt into my chest when Lillian stood up and entered the ring to announce the main event. I shifted in my seat as Brock's music hit. I watched as he came down to the ring, followed closely by Paul Heyman. As Brock jumped onto the ring apron, Heyman met my eye, and I nodded at him. Seth Rollin's music hit, and he sauntered to the ring, with Kane and J&J Security at his side.

The match got started, and Brock laid into Rollins, releasing some of his pent up aggression. I sat back and watched the demolition of Seth Rollins. Brock put him in suplex after suplex, throwing him around the ring with such ease. I actually heard Lesnar, when he called out to Rollins, "Welcome to Suplex City, bitch!"

I laughed out loud as Brock hit him with his seventeenth suplex. Rollins lay helpless and motionless in the center of the ring. He grabbed him up by his hair, and hoisted Rollins on his shoulders, preparing him for his patented move, the F-5. But as he hit it, and went for the pin, the lights in the arena went out.

And a loud bong of a church bell hit my ears. My heart fell into my stomach. "No!"

When the lights came back on, Seth Rollins was gone and the Undertaker had taken his place. Brock stood in the ring, disbelief etched across his face. Disbelief and fury. Everyone in the arena was on their feet. As was I. But not from excitement. I was furious. This was not supposed to happen. I had just been screwed over, and I knew it. Heyman looked over at me, not believing what he was seeing. And he could tell from my face, that he knew I had nothing to do with this. Undertaker stared down Lesnar, fuming in silence. The sound was deafening. I looked down at Lillian, who seemed just as shocked as I was. Someone had gone to great lengths to stab me in the back.

Mark Calloway, or The Undertaker, struck out, attacking Brock. They grappled for a few moments before Lesnar was caught and received a hard choke slam. Lillian pulled on my wrist softly, and I sat back down. My hands curled into fists so tight, my nails broke into the skin of my palms as the Undertaker delivered not one, but two Tombstones before leaving the ring.

I didn't realize I was shaking from my anger until Lillian placed a gentle hand on my back. I jumped at her touch, and remembered the night was not over yet. I tried my damnedest to reign in my fury, because Sting was next. Once the Undertaker had left the arena, and his music quit playing, Seth Rollins reentered the ring, and stalked around the unmoving Lesnar. I heard the boos of the crowd when Triple H came down the ramp, smiling smugly and entered the ring to watch as Rollins prepared Brock to take a Pedigree.

But for the second time that night, all lights went off, accompanied by a crow caw. Another emotion bubbled up inside me that battled the anger I was feeling. I was finally going to see Sting in action, live for the first time in my life. Not just on TV or the Network. I forced myself to push my hatred aside for the moment, when the titantron began to play an entrance video I had no idea about. That must've been of Steve's creation. A few lights that lit up the ring returned, and I noticed that Brock had rolled from the ring, and was lying in a heap at Heyman's feet. But I looked to Triple H and Seth Rollins in the ring. They both looked like they had seen a ghost.

I didn't know whose idea it had been to bring Mark Calloway back, but if Paul knew about it, I hoped this was a punch to the gut. My viscous thoughts swerved only slightly when the roar of the crowd reached a fever pitch as the man known as Sting entered a WWE arena for the very first time in history.

Sting made his way down the ramp slowly, keeping his gaze locked on Triple H in the middle of the ring. Before he could make it the steel steps, however, Seth slid from the ring. I held my breath, because I didn't know what was going to happen. Rollins was supposed to have been knocked out at this point. He was supposed to have lost his title, and Triple H was supposed to try to attack the new Champion in Lesnar when Sting would appear. I would rip someone's head off if they messed with this iconic moment of mine. But Steve must've sensed a shift in the winds before he entered the arena, and Sting pulled out his black baseball from his long trench coat. I sighed in relief as Rollins went down after a blow from the bat.

The scene in the ring was chilling. It was like looking at WCW vs WWF all over again. Sting face to face with Triple H. I heard Paul yelling profanities towards the Icon. However, in typical Sting fashion, he said nothing. Paul lunged at Sting, and the man in black ducked, and swung his bat, catching Triple H at the back of his knees. He went down and crowd began to chant, "Holy Shit". My heart was pounding in my chest as Sting picked Paul up, and grabbed him around the neck, bending him backwards. He turned around, facing me. I met his dark painted eyes. He smirked slightly, pointing towards me, and slammed Paul down to the mat with his 'Scorpion Deathdrop'.

oo

Once the cameras stopped rolling, I stood stiffly from my seat and marched back up the ramp and to the backstage area. I was on an emotional overload. Excitement and joy pulsed through me at the thoughts of Sting's debut; but anger and fury licked at my spine thinking about the outcome of the championship match. I first saw Brock and Heyman standing off to one side. Lesnar looked at me and if I hadn't have been so angry myself, I would've been halted in my steps. "What the hell was that?"

Brock's yell in my direction did nothing to deter my fury. In fact, it actually fueled it. I looked down at my hands, feeling the stinging of my skin. I saw four crescent-shaped punctures that my nails had made on each palm. I heard movement coming from behind me. I turned and saw a group of people gathered behind me. Sting and Randy were standing off to one side, while Stephanie and Paul stood to the other, staring around the room both with worried and confused looks. In between the two small groups were Mark Calloway and Pat Patterson. "I'd like to know that myself."

I stormed across the room, and stood directly in front of Patterson. I knew, from the looks and the body shifts of the people around me, Brock had followed. Pat Patterson was smirking knowingly at me, and I had a feeling I knew my answer before the question was even posed. "Would anyone care to explain to me what the in _HELL_ just happened?"

Pat didn't seem fazed by my shriek, nor by the murderous look that I knew was on my face, "I didn't want Brock Lesnar to be champion."

"Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't know that you were Vince McMahon!" I scoffed, rolling my eyes at him. I saw Randy as he moved closer to me. The look on his face was almost as venomous as mine. He knew what I felt. He knew that I had just been screwed. I turned to focus on Pat again. "But, if I'm not mistaken, Vince was just fine with having Brock becoming champion! But, oh no! You had to go put your big nose into my business! You had to go and screw me OVER!

"I gave my word to Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman that he would become champion! Not that I'm not thrilled to see you back Mark," I said, softening my voice and giving him a quick look. He turned his fierce stare from Brock to look down at me. He smirked softly. Our group was gathering quite the crowd. I could just make out a few Divas and other superstars congregating around. I poked harshly at the chest of Pat Patterson, "You just can't get over your ego long enough to see that someone else might have better script ideas than you do!"

"Careful girl," Pat said, taking a step closer to me. I felt my eyebrows rise in indignation. "You don't know who you're dealing with. You better watch your tongue, or I might just have your job!"

"Are you threatening me?" I asked him, lowering my voice to an equally dangerous level. Rage ripped through me like a tornado in a trailer park. I brought myself up to my full height. And before I could stop myself, I felt my hand raise as my arm pulled back. The resounding smack that my open palm made as it came into contact with Pat Patterson's cheek stunned the room. My chest heaved with anger and before I could strike him again, a large hand enclosed around my wrist. I turned to see that it was not Randy who held me back. But Brock Lesnar himself. I almost scoffed at the irony of it all. I yanked my hand from his grip, throwing him a stare. I turned my blazing eyes back to Pat. He had stumbled slightly at my impact, but he was glaring at me through his fingers that held his cheek. "You have no idea who _you're_ dealing with! Don't you ever threaten me again, do you understand me?"

And with that, I turned on my heel and pushed my way through the crowd. I had had enough and wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of this damn arena.

 **Oh, Lora is so pissed off! I had planned on carrying that chapter a bit further, until the Raw scene afterwards, but I cut it off. I didn't want it to seem like it ran on too far. But it'll start off the next chapter, don't worry!**

 **STING IS HERE! I hope you like it! I kept it similar, but yet different, with my own twists!**

 **So, let me know how you feel! Love it? Hate it? Meh? Lol just review!**

 **A big heap of thanks to** _ **kimberly316, KarlishaCullen, RKOsgirl92, Chermayne, guest, bingobaby, AngelsDestiny22 and FIRE-ICEROSE**_ **for your lovely words of support!**


	8. The Honeymooners

**Chapter 8-** The Honeymooners

 **Randy**

There had only been a handful of times in my career with the WWE that I had been so furious that I couldn't see straight. A memorable time being when Lora had willingly put herself into harm's way with Mike for a Skull Crushing Finale and everyone seemed to know about it but myself. I had thought then that there was nothing that could top that. I was wrong, however. I had been sitting in my locker room, knowing that my wife and family were ringside to watch what should have been the best night in Lora's career. John had been at my side, unusually cheerful; despite his recent bout of anger he had about his late wife. The rug had been pulled out from underneath everything when the lights cut out and I heard that unmistakable bell toll.

I saw Lora's face when a cameraman that was trying to get the perfect shot of Lesnar and Taker in the ring. She was on her feet, and if looks could kill, someone would definitely be dead. I was mildly appeased when Sting's debut went off without as much as a hitch. When the live feed had died, I left John in my room, in search of Lora. When I found her, she was surrounded by a large group of people. The only one that seemed calm and collected was Pat Patterson. I knew in an instant that he was behind all this. He hadn't taken to Lora's storyline the way Vince had. I knew he was vindictive and scheming, but never before had his actions affected me, personally. And I wanted nothing more than to take his head off.

Of course, being the fiery redhead she was, Lora took away my opportunity at just that. She screamed in his face, with an audience gathering around. I saw my father standing with Keith and Tiegan off the side. Tia didn't seem to know what was going on, but Keith looked upset. He knew that the Undertaker wasn't a part of Mommy's plan. My eyes were pulled back to Lora when I heard the slap. At first, I thought Pat had struck my wife. Fury boiled dangerously within before I took in the scene; of Lora's arm being held back by Brock and Patterson clutching at his face. The anger dissipated and I tried to fight the amusement that took its place.

Lora had then stalked off, down no hallway in particular, for a getaway. And I had followed after her. She absolutely refused to talk about what had gone down when we returned to our bus. Instead, she pretended that nothing was wrong, and played the merry-little housewife to her kids. I was in no position to coach her otherwise. Hell, in fact, I was just like her in times like these. She would open up in her own time.

"That was so messed up," John said, after I had explained what was actually supposed to happen last night. No one really knew what had gone down, and that it was a screw job of royal proportions. I felt my hand clench and unclench from a fist. John then started to laugh slightly. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Lora really nailed Patterson? Man, I know people that would've paid good money to see that. Or to do it themselves."

I opened my mouth to retort, but the door to right opened and in walked Lora, followed by Steve Borden, Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman. A shocking trio to say the least, but they all seem to have one thing in common that connected them. Lora. I stood up and went immediately to my wife. She sighed and let my arms pull her into my chest. "What's wrong?"

"Vince is here," she mumbled into my shirt. I could hear the trepidation in her voice. Vince wasn't scheduled to be here tonight, so that left only one reason for him to make an impromptu appearance. He had urgent matters to handle, and I had a feeling that included my wife. And as if she read my thoughts, Lora said, "And he's coming here now for a meeting with me and Pat."

I pulled away from her slightly to look down into her green eyes. I saw the worry there, but I also saw resolution. She didn't regret what she had done. And I didn't think anyone in this room blamed her for it. Hell, we had all, at one point or another, flew off the handle when we had been stabbed in the back. "It's going to be okay. I'm here for you. I've got your back."

"As do we," Steve chimed in, giving a pointed stare towards Heyman and Lesnar. Steve seemed to be the unvoiced leader of the three, and surprisingly, neither one of the other two men objected. Brock actually gave a short nod. Lora smiled softly, before jumping at the sound of the door opening again.

Vince McMahon, his daughter Stephanie with Paul by her side and Pat Patterson entered the room. Stephanie looked as if she would rather be anywhere else right now, and Paul just looked pissed off. Vince, however, looked apologetic and resigned. I knew this was about to go south, and my anger prickled at the hair on the back of my neck.

"With Raw about to start in fifteen minutes, I'm going to make this quick," he said, shuffling to the head of the group. I glanced at Pat, who was looking very proud of himself at the moment. I felt my hand clench tightly. "Lora, I'd first like to apologize for Pat bringing back Mark, going against my direct orders. And for that, he's been pulled from the creative team for the duration of current storyline plots. However, I can't condone your behavior; laying your hands on Patterson was a line you shouldn't have crossed."

I scoffed at his words. Patterson should have thought about that before he screwed over my wife. It wasn't like Lora had the reputation of a simpering flower around here. Everyone knew what happened when you pissed Lora Orton off. Vince cut me a hard stare, which I only returned, daring him to say anything to me. He seemed to think better of it, and sighed, turning his attention back to Lora. Lora looked straight on at Vince, not wavering and held her chin up proudly. She wasn't going to give Patterson the satisfaction of reacting to whatever punishment she was about to receive. "I'm going to have to suspend you for two weeks without pay. Starting now."

"What? Vince—" I began, but Lora placed her hand on my chest, halting me. I huffed and let go of Lora, pacing the room in pent up frustration. Patterson's punishment for defying Vince's direct orders wasn't nearly as extreme as Lora's was for a mere slap in retaliation. I turned to stare at Stephanie and Paul. Steph ducked her head, not wanting to meet my eye. Paul, at least, had the decency to look just as pissed as I felt. I could tell that if given his way, he would just laugh it off and that would be it. I heard Lora clear her throat and I turned back to her.

"As you wish."

"Also," Vince began, and at this point, he began to shuffle on his feet nervously. I knew what he was about to say wasn't something he was going to be comfortable saying. "Pat has insisted that you apologize for striking him."

At this, Lora scoffed loudly. I saw the indignant looks on Steve and Brock's face and Stephanie groaned. The redhead stepped defiantly towards Pat, and I smirked softly when he took a miniscule step back in retreat. "I will if he does."

Vince turned his eyes toward Pat, obviously telling him with his stare that it was only fair. Patterson rolled his eyes and barely mumbled, "I'm sorry."

"And I'm sorry that I had to slap you for being a weasel and going behind my back to ruin my developed lines," Lora said sweetly, smiling dangerously at him. A few chuckles left the mouths of men around the room, but I didn't recognize them, I kept my eyes on my wife. My chest puffed proudly seeing that she wasn't just going to lie down at take this pile of shit. Vince even smirked as he turned his attention towards Brock and Heyman.

"Now, the Undertaker is going to open Raw, and shoot a promo, and I do not want you to interfere. In fact, I don't even want you to make an appearance tonight. Consider this a night off, if you will," Vince said, causing a furious stare to overstake Lesnar's face. He was clearly unhappy with this plan. He glared daggers at Vince's back as the chairman faced the man known as Sting. "And as for you, the Universe is dying to hear from you. I say, you come out as Raw's last segment and tell us exactly why you're here."

"No," Steve said simply. Every eye turned towards him, including Lora's. Vince stared blankly at him, blinking stupidly. I could almost see Steve stop himself from rolling his eyes.

"Excuse me?"

"No. I will not make an appearance tonight. The only reason that I am here right now is because of her," Steve said, pointing at my wife. He smiled softly at her before turning cold eyes back to Vince. "I follow her orders. No one else's."

"Well, that's not going to happen for the next two weeks, so you're just going to have too!" Patterson spat out, casting gloating eyes in Lora's direction. What I wouldn't give to just RKO him right now. Steve raised a single eyebrow at the white haired man.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with you. My contract clearly stated that Lora Orton was the only one that scheduled my spots. And, as long as she's gone, then so am I," his voice was level and resolute. He was not backing down and was remaining loyal to the only person to willing enough to bring him here. Lora was gaping at him, before she smiled brightly and turned to stare confidently at Pat. He looked furious at being circumvented in his poorly plotted revenge. Vince huffed and strode haughtily from the room. Stephanie cast an apologetic look towards Lora and both she and Paul followed behind. Pat looked as if he wanted to say something, but after seeing that was woefully out-numbered he begrudgingly left the room.

"Thank you Steve," Lora was the first to speak, walking closer to the tall, dark headed man. He tilted his head down at her in respect and I saw her eyes light up. I knew what she must be feeling right now. Having her childhood icon standing up for her, and taking her side could only be the best feeling in the world. I, personally, remembered a few encouraging conversations with Ric Flair early in my career. I walked behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist tightly.

"What are we going to do with two solid weeks together?" I laughed, mentioning that I, myself, was out for an 'injury' for the same about of time. But even as I said it, an idea popped into my head. An idea that I just knew would take her mind off just being suspended. I smiled wickedly into her hair.

"I don't know, but," she pulled away from me and marched towards Paul and Brock. I had almost forgotten they were still in the room. I heard her take a deep breath as she flipped her long red hair over her shoulders. "Before I go, I want you two to do something for me."

"You heard Vince," Heyman said, casting a wary glance towards his client. "We are to leave the building."

"When have you ever done what you were told?" Lora said, eyes alit with mischief. Brock stood straighter at her words and stared intently down at her. Even Heyman had that greasy smile slipping onto his face. "Heyman, I want you to go to the ring. I want you to run your mouth like you have never run it before. Boast, brag, and provoke the only way you know how to get Taker to the ring. I want him angry. I want him furious.

"And when he finally comes out, and he will," Lora said, turning blazing eyes towards the Beast in front of her. She placed a palm flat on the broad shoulder of Brock Lesnar. "Then you tear into him. Beat his ass. Make it as real as you like. He can take it. I want you relentless. I want destruction. I don't want you to stop kicking his ass until cops have to cuff you and haul you away."

Brock smiled down at Lora for a brief second and then both he and Heyman left the room. I turned around and saw that sometime throughout Lora's speech, Steve and John had slipped from the room as well, leaving Lora and I alone. Lora walked closer to me, slumping against my form, losing all fight and fell into my arms. I hugged her tight, "Are you okay?"

"Well, I guess I kind of had it coming. It was only a matter of time before my temper got me into trouble," Lora said, almost humorously. I had to chuckle at her words, being reminded of several instances where she had struck out, physically, against superstars in the business.

"Maybe you're right," I said, pulling away from her to start gathering our belongings to head back to the bus. "You've almost beaten on as many guys here as I have."

Lora's laughter bubbled bright and echoed throughout the room. "Maybe I'll be inducted into the Hall of Fame. What, between chair shots on Jack Swagger and a crotch shot against Wade Barrett, I should be a shoe in."

"Don't forget chucking the microphone and nailing Mike in the back of the neck. That's a personal favorite of mine," I laughed and I knew I wasn't mistaken when a proud look that reached her eyes at the memory. Together, we finished packing our bags and made our way back to the bus, to break the news to the kids and my parents. But before we got to the back entrance, we were distracted by a loud commotion going on.

We turned a corner and what I saw was stunning. It seemed that Brock had taken Lora's words to heart. Every single wrestler in the locker room was divided into two large masses. Cameramen scattered this way and that, and you could hear the Universe from ringside yelling in appreciation. The nucleus of each group being Brock Lesnar and Mark Calloway. Somehow, they both kept managing to break free from their restraints and running after one another. I looked down to see Lora had both hands on her hips, staring at the scene before her, looking quite pleased with herself. Finally, Brock was backed against a wall, surrounded by arena security, hands up in surrender. I saw when his eyes found Lora. He stared at her for a few moments, before smiling and laughing softly, and gave his hands up to be restrained in zip-tie cuffs. I heard Lora sigh in contentment, hooking her arm around mine.

"Now we can go."

oo

"Are you going to tell me what we're doing here?" Lora asked, as I drove the rental car down a narrow and crowded street, parallel to the beautiful beaches of Florida. The whole ride from Jacksonville to Panama City was full of these questions. But I wasn't ready to let her in on my secret just yet. She didn't know about why I had asked her pack a bag when we had reached the bus last night. She also didn't know why we left the kids aboard the bus with my parents. I just looked over at her, smiling brightly. She huffed in frustration and stared at her window, looking out at the ocean.

Finally, we pulled into the parking lot of the beautiful, beach front hotel of the Holiday Inn Resort. I hopped out of the car, paying a young boy to pile our luggage onto a rolling, silver rack. And taking Lora's hand, I led her to the front desk. The hotel lobby was absolutely breathtaking, as far as lobby's go. I had seen my fair share of hotels, but this was one was magnificent. There was waterfall in the middle of the lobby, surrounded by palm leaves and rock formations. I gave the woman behind the desk my name, and she smiled at me when she typed it into the computer. She handed us the keycards and a little packet of brochures for activities around the facilities.

We waited for an elevator and it took us to the fifteenth floor, the very top. We walked down, hand in hand, the breezy walkway until I found the correct number on the door. I pushed the heavy door out of the way, and let Lora in first. She gasped when she took in her surroundings. The first room we entered was an open and bright living room. One wall was completely covered in mirrors, which reflected the adjacent wall that held a picture window, with a beautiful view of the ocean. A door cut into the window, leading out to a balcony that faced the beach front. The furniture in the room was composed of bamboo and wicker, with mahogany colored leather padding. A full size kitchen was to our left, fully equipped with glass champagne flutes and white china. A small glass top dinette table, with two wicker chairs stood in the middle of the kitchen.

Lora opened the door to the right and entered the bedroom. It had its own balcony and door on the other side of the white-linen King sized bed. She floated through the room, and went through the balcony door. I followed quickly after her. "Randy, what are we doing here?"

"Well, I figured, since we both had two weeks off at the same time, that now was as good a time as any," I murmured, hugging her back against my chest as she peered into the vastness of the crystal clear blue ocean water in front of us.

"Time for what?"

"Our honeymoon. I never forgot that I couldn't give you a proper one when we first got married," I heard her gasp and turn in my arms. Her eyes were wide as the ocean breeze blew a few strands of her red hair in her face. I smiled down at her, tucking the loose hair behind her ears. "My parents have agreed to take the kids to their house for the next two weeks. So, for fourteen solid days, we can have the honeymoon we never got."

Lora's eyes misted over as she smiled softly at me. Her arms snaked up my chest and wrapped around my neck. She giggled when I squeezed her waist. "Well, it wasn't exactly _your_ fault we didn't take one. I was six and half months pregnant."

"Yes, well, now you're not," I whispered as she turned back around to face the ocean. I walked us up to where Lora was pushed against the black wrought iron railing and her hands clamped around the top. "We are kid-free and can be as careless and irresponsible as any newlywed couple should be. What do you want to do first?"

Her head turned slightly to face me and I saw her eyebrow quirk up. I chuckled against her and pulled her roughly back into the bedroom.

oo

Two hours later, we found ourselves stretched out on the beach, lying on two white and green beach chairs that belonged to the hotel. I looked over at Lora through my sunglasses. She was stretched out on her back, wearing a vintage retro high-waisted bathing suite. It was magenta in color and the bra-styled top had hippie fringes falling from it. She had just applied sunscreen with a good amount of SPF. She had remarked that since she didn't spend the same amount of tanning time I did, she wasn't about to spend her honeymoon blistered and red like a lobster. I had to agree with her. Because, apart from the activities the bed had already seen from us, I wasn't close to being done with her. And my plans wouldn't bode well if I couldn't touch her without causing pain.

"Want to go in the water?" Lora asked, pulling my attention away from her body and the hotel room. I smiled at her, standing up, feeling the warm sand move underneath my feet. I helped her up and we waded through the labyrinth of beach-goers and their kids with their towels and many sand toys. The smile on my wife's face clinched my heart when we entered the water. Waves lapped at our legs and we ventured further out into the water.

Once we were chest deep, I pulled her to me by the hand I held onto. She giggled as she fell against me, one particular wave coursed over my shoulders. Her body moved easily against mine, aided by the water around us as I clung to her waist. We stayed like that for some time, just floating in the ebb and flow of the tide. We said nothing, but listened to the on-goings around us. I could hear kids laughing and people shouting out at one another over the slight roar of the waves. A part of me missed our children, but this was for Lora. I owed it to her to give her this. I had beaten myself up that, when we had gotten married, we just didn't have the time, with my schedule, to properly celebrate our marriage. It was one of the few times I regretted not being a normal guy for her. Any other guy would've been able to take time off to sweep their wife off her feet. And, by a happy coincidence, Lora went and got herself suspended, and it matched up with my rare off time. And now, I was bound and determined to treat her like the goddess she was to me.

Her arms wrapped tightly around my neck as she allowed me to pick her up and her legs locked around my back. Lora propped her forehead against mine, and though I couldn't see her eyes through her sunglasses, I knew she was staring down at me. This had been just the distraction she needed after her suspension, because she had not stopped smiling since we arrived. I heard her sigh, and she lowered her lips against mine, "I love you Randy. Thank you for this."

As I tried to return the sentiment, a rather large wave came in. I wasn't prepared and we were undertaken by the ocean. Moments later, once it had subsided, both Lora and I reemerged from the water. Once she finished sputtering the salt water from her mouth, she fell into laughter. I shook my head and smiled at her. "Want to go get a drink?"

She nodded enthusiastically, and I helped out of the water and we walked back up the beach, leaving our belongings in the secure location of the beach chairs. It was short walk back up the small boardwalk to one of the hotel's bars. This one had been constructed to look like an exotic tiki bar. We took up two of the bar stools and waited for the bartender to approach us. Five minutes later, I had a rum and Coke and Lora had a Pina Colada in a tall glass, with a pineapple wedge around the rim. I watched as her lips closed around the straw and suck down the frozen drink. Heat rushed through me, and I wanted to get her back to the hotel room.

But there would be plenty of time for that, and I didn't want to waste a second of the sunshine. We sat at the bar for a while longer, and Lora had two more frozen coconut drinks, charging everything to room. It was easier than keeping up with my wallet. When the sun finally started to set, we gathered our things from the beach and made our way back poolside.

The pool area was just as phenomenal as the hotel lobby. The pool took up a majority of the space in the back of the hotel, with its own waterfall cascading into it. Off to the side of the pool were a few more tiki-style restaurant huts, a small DJ stand that played all of today's music, mixed with the best beachy themed songs, creating a paradise of sorts for its guests. Before I could ask if Lora wanted to go to the hot tub that was secluded by several palm trees on the opposite side of the pool, island-style drumming began to play and as we watched, two Samoan men and two Hawaiian women came out and started up a luau right there on the pool deck. I had read somewhere in the brochures that this was a daily occurrence at sunset.

Lora took a seat at round picnic table with straw awning and watched as one of the men began a fire dance. I sat next to her, draping an arm around her shoulders, as several dances went by. They had small kids come up and taught them how to hula. And then they asked for volunteers for the adults to join them. Lora ducked her head, obviously not wanting to be called. She reminded me of a high school student, doing everything they could to not be called upon by their teacher. I smirked down at her, thoroughly enjoying myself. I could say all I wanted to about this being for her, but I was a selfish being at heart. I was going to enjoy the next fourteen days, not having to share Lora with anyone.

oo

The days slipped by in a blur of sun, sand and skin. If Lora and I weren't at the beach or the pool, we were in our room, enjoying just being with each other. It hadn't just been the two of us in such a long time. It took me back to a time close to seven years ago, before Keith was born. A lot of things fell to the wayside after the kids started to come along. I couldn't devote as much of my time as I wanted to, to my beautiful wife. She deserved the moon and stars. I said yes to everything she wanted to do. We went souvenir shopping for the kids, out to eat at the all the most popular beach restaurants and now we were preparing to get ready for the concert we had received tickets too. Fall Out Boy was performing at a place called Pier Park. It was about three miles up the road, so we took our time.

Lora came out of the bathroom, her hair pulled back in a clip, curling slightly from the salty ocean water. The sun had begun to kiss her skin, causing her to glow brightly. She was dressed in a light green, flowing sundress that fell just above her knees with five inch wedge heels strapped to her feet. I was still taller than her, even with the extra inches. I wore simple khaki cargo shorts and a loose blue short-sleeved top. It was extremely humid and hot down here this time of year. She smiled at me excitedly, taking my hand and pulling me towards the door.

It took longer than expected to reach the park, but we still made it with thirty minutes to concert time. Lora forced me to stand in the t-shirt line while she went and bought us a couple of beers at the concession stands. When she returned, I was at the head of the line, and Lora picked out a concert tour shirt and purchased it. I carried the bag for her without asking, and followed her to our seats. The warm-up group was just finishing as we sat down, four rows from the front.

Another thirty minutes went by and the boys finally entered the stage to a huge welcome. Lora, herself, even screamed along with the rest of the people in attendance. Fall Out Boy opened up with a song I vaguely knew, but it seemed to be one of their most popular ones, as everyone surrounding us sung out with Patrick Stump. Thanks to Lora, and her constant need to have their songs on repeat, I knew a few of their songs they had on their set list. Even little Tia was a fan, and when they played the "Monsters" song, as she called it, I smiled down at Lora who laughed at me, knowing exactly what I was thinking.

I had to hand it to the boys; they knew how to put on a show. Pete and Joe bounced around the stage, all the while still hitting every note, without missing a beat. Lora danced and sung out with every song they played. All eighteen of them. I knew that in the morning, her voice would be gone. I watched her as she lost herself in the music. The heat around us caused her to sheen with sweat as if she was having a match a WrestleMania. Her hair was falling from the clip and clung to her face and neck. But she wasn't bothered by it.

When the concert was over, we slowly weaved our way through the throng of people back to our rental car. I felt the tension in the car was we snailed through traffic, barely inching down the road towards the hotel. Lora was turned towards me in her seat, her hands running over my arms, and caressing my thighs. A forceful memory of that very first night as we tried to make it back to my place from the club popped into my head. It was so similar to this moment, it was uncanny. And I was struggling just as much now, as I was then, to make it back home safely. However, this time, I would make damn sure she wouldn't fall asleep on me. Lora clung to me as we entered the lobby of the hotel, and up the elevator.

Once we were finally in the confines of our hotel room, and pushed Lora down on the couch. She moaned softly when I laid her out, hovering over her body with mine, capturing her lips. She wrapped her legs around my hips, pulling me against her. I let my hands glide up her thighs, pushing her dress up as I went. She whimpered when I slipped my fingers into her panties, feeling the hot flesh beneath. Leaving her body momentarily, I pulled the panties down and off her legs. I stood, watching her, stretched out on the sofa, panting at me. Staring at me with the want that has been there since day one. Her tongue danced across her mouth as her teeth sunk into her bottom lip when I popped the button on my shorts, sliding both them and my boxers down. She knelt up on the sofa, grabbed my arms, and pulled me back down into a sitting position on the couch.

Her lips attacked my neck as her hand closed around me. My head fell back against the mirror behind me as she slipped her hand up and down my length, gripping me tightly. With her dress still on, she lifted the skirt part and straddled my hips. I helped her out, and guided her down on to me. Her knees sunk further into the cushions as she filled herself with me. She tossed her head back, pulling her hair down fully from the clip. As her hips came into contact with mine, she pulled my shirt up and over my head with two handfuls of cloth. I took advantage of her exposed neck, and ran my tongue slowly from the base to her jaw, ending with a kiss at the sensitive spot just below her ear.

I ripped the two skinny spaghetti straps of her dress off and the cotton material fell, pooling around her waist and revealing her chest. She gasped in shock, and I made a mental note to replace the dress someday. I did have a habit of tearing her clothes off. I took Lora in my mouth as she began to slide herself up and down on me. She braced herself, one hand on my shoulder and one on the back of the couch. I felt her shiver against as I nuzzled my face into her chest. I grasped her hips with both of my hands, helping her to move faster against me. Her hands grasped the back of my head as I attacked her neck again with my lips, pulling her faster, rougher down on me.

Her breath caught in her throat several times, choking off the whimpers and low moans that I was causing within her. Her fingers tightened against my skull and I knew she was close. I removed one hand from her hip, and reached down between us. My thumb rubbed hard against her as my hand spread out against her lower abdomen. She came against me as she panted, "Randy!"

As I emptied myself within her, I smiled on the inside, thinking that this was how that first night should have gone. But then, if it hadn't, would I be here today with this woman that's had me totally enraptured since she passed out in my bed seven years ago?

 **So, I totally wasn't planning on another super sexy scene so soon after the last one, BUT that being said, I couldn't have a honeymoon chapter without sexy sexy… what kind of writer would I be? Pahaha.. And besides, I know we ALL love them! =D**

 **I'm still not done with Pat, but I've got figure out the best Lora-way to get back at him. I know the slap was patented Lora, but he's just a prick! (now, I don't know what he's really like in real life, but it works better for me for him to be a dick! Lol)**

 **oh, btdubs, I actually saw fall out boy this past weekend, and it was AWESOME! So awesome, I had to include it! Yay!**

 **So, tell me what you think!**

 **Thanks to** _ **kimberly316, KarlishaCullen, RKOsgirl92, Chermayne, guest, bingobaby, AngelsDestiny22 and FIRE-ICEROSE**_ **for your love and support!**


	9. They Live

**Three words. Rowdy Roddy Piper. ='( ='( ='( ='( ='( omg! I'm going to cry super hard tonight on Raw when they do that ten bell toll for him. I thought it was rough watching Dusty's tribute, and I loved Dusty. But I FREAKING loved Piper! Like, LOVED! ='( No more Piper's Pit. And I bet Cowboy Bob is super depressed, seeing as they were involved in quite the long storyline back in the day. Again, ='(**

 **I dedicate this chapter to you Roddy! Because, just when you think you've got the answers, I change the questions! And whether or not the chapter title makes sense to the actual chapter, I'm using your horror, cult classic, movie flick title. Because I can!**

 **Chapter 9-** They Live

I was almost sad when Randy and I rolled into St. Louis after our honeymoon. It had been years since we had that much uninterrupted time to ourselves. Albeit, my legs were stiff, we really hadn't gotten all that much sleep and the small purple blotches Randy had left on my shoulders hadn't quite faded. A fact that Randy looked proud about. I hopped off the bus when the air brakes rang out the last time, and was met by a loud ruckus. I turned and saw my in-laws, Bob and Elaine, standing on the porch with a twin each. They had arrived back home the night before. My heart flew when I saw my two young ones. Mackenzie and Zackary both giggled brightly, waving towards their parents. But the main focal point of the noise came from the six year old and the three and a half year old running my way.

"MOMMY!" They both screamed, colliding with my legs, a child clinging to each leg. I reached down, scooping Tiegan into my arms, because once Keith saw his Daddy, he flew off towards him. I turned and saw Randy lifting his son to sit on his shoulders. I smiled at him before heading towards the porch. I felt Tia's little fingers brush across my bare skin revealed by the slender tank top I was wearing.

"Mommy got a booboo?" Tia asked, looking up at me with sad eyes. I knew she was referring to Randy's claim on my territory. He actually chuckled and I rolled my eyes without looking back at him. Instead, I decided to tease my little girl.

"Mhmm, Mommy got bit by a shark at the beach!" I gasped and watched as Tiegan's green eyes widen and stared at me in disbelief. Keith giggled at his sister's face as he was toted up the stairs on his father's shoulders.

"Nuh-uh, Mommy," he said, after Randy placed him on the porch to take Mack from his mother's arms. He put his little hands on his hips to gaze up at me. I caught Randy's smirk out of the corner of my eye. "A shark bit is a lot bigger than that."

"What can I say? He wasn't very impressive," I retorted, setting Tia down to do the same as Randy had, pulling my littlest son from Bob. Zackary gripped my neck tightly, gibbering at me in his baby talk. Mack was doing the same to her father. Bob was smirking dangerously at his son and me. Randy huffed at my words, but smiling cheekily. I raised my eyebrow at him, turning to Elaine, who was smiling humorously at the conversation. "Were the kids well-behaved?"

I followed my in-laws back into the house, with Keith and Tia running back upstairs to their playroom. Bob chuckled deeply, flopping down on one in of the couch. "The real question is, were _you_ kids well-behaved?"

"Not one bit," Randy said as I sat in the floor, watching as the twins' played with their toys in the floor. I blushed a deep red at my husband's words, but they were the absolute truth. As Elaine and Randy took the remaining seats on the couch, I leaned back on Randy's knees. Elaine smiled brightly at the mention of her time with her grandkids.

"They were just perfect, as always. Well, Keith and Tiegan were prefect," Elaine said, laughter beginning to bubble in her chest. I suppressed a groan, knowing I was about to hear that the twins' had done something wicked. As I was not wrong. Elaine showed me the aftermath of their living room, which had at least two or three completely unraveled rolls of toilet paper strewn, similar to the string incident about a month ago. "It would have been a simple clean up if they hadn't been soaking wet after a day in the pool."

It was clear to Randy and I that we indeed were playing for our raising now with the twins. After a few hours of laughing and talking, I set off to the kitchen to start preparing dinner. Randy had really spoiled me these past two weeks with all the room service. I wouldn't have been surprised if I had forgotten to cook all together. Randy took pity on me, and joined me in the kitchen to help while Bob and Elaine continued their job of looking after the kids. While I put the potatoes in the oven to bake, Randy's phone rang. He snatched it up as I began to slice the chicken breasts into strips.

"Hello?... Luke?" I froze and turned around to face Randy. Luke was calling him? Now, I wouldn't have been surprised if Luke was absolutely capable of working John's phone. Hell, the twins' even knew the basics about my iPad. But _why_ would Luke be calling him? I walked over, standing in front him and tried to gage his expression. His eyebrows knit together in concern and I knew it was nothing good. "I'll be right over. Just hang tight."

"What's happening?" I asked immediately when Randy dropped his phone on the counter. He ran his hand over his face; from frustration or worry, it wasn't clear. When he looked at me, I saw his previously clear blue eyes clouding over. Our vacation getaway was officially over in an abrupt way.

"It's John. Luke said that he hasn't been out of bed all day, not even to fix him a meal. He's had to raid the pantry all day. He's asked to come stay with Keith," Randy murmured, as if ashamed to have been saying the words. I gaped at him. I knew John was having a major problem coping with Casie's death. Really, who could blame him? But this was too much. Too far. To leave a three and a half year old to his own accord to feed himself? No. I walked around Randy, snatching the keys for the Escalade off the hook by the door. I asked Elaine to take over dinner, telling her where I was going. She gave us a sad look as I led the way out of the house, with Randy hot on my heels.

I let Randy speed through the streets, knowing he could handle the turns at a faster speed than I ever could. It barely took us fifteen minutes to make it to John's house. The yard hadn't been mowed in what looked like a month. House maintenance was Casie's thing. I shoved the car door open and ran up the walkway and unlocked the front door. Luke looked up from his spot on the couch, a box of dry cereal falling to the floor, spilling, as he rushed to us. I bent down and took him in my arms, hugging him tight.

"John!" Randy bellowed out, his voice reverberating against the walls. I heard some movement from upstairs, but right now, I didn't even want to lay my eyes on John. I was too pissed off. The mother in me just wanted to pummel him. No matter how much pain he was in, his son had just lost his mother, and now he had to deal with whatever down spiral John was going through. I walked with him in my grip to the kitchen, and gasped.

It seemed as if every dish in the house was piled high in the sink. And several broken glasses were scattered about on the floor. I noticed the brown liquid stains on the walls above the shards of glass, surmising John had caused this. Opening the pantry, I noticed that it was extremely bare. Just a few can goods that were no use to Luke, seeing as he probably didn't even know how to use the can opener, a couple of packs of popcorn and some measly things that even a college kid couldn't form a meal from.

The noises from upstairs got louder and soon John emerged on the stairs. And he looked like hammered hell. Dark bags hung beneath his eyes and his clothes were disheveled and appeared to have been worn for several days. And you could just smell the whiskey on him, even if it was eleven o'clock in the afternoon. Now I knew what he had been surviving off of for however long while Luke had to scavenge for scraps. Randy stared at his best friend as if he didn't know him. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Luke called me," Randy answered, picking up the box of cereal from the floor. He shook it, and I could tell from the sound that it was nearly empty. "Is this all you have for him to eat?"

"Of course not, there are plenty of things in the kitchen," John retorted defensively. He pushed past me and my eyes watered slightly from his stench. I backed up until my back hit Randy's chest. I watched as John perused through his cabinets, with a confused look on his face. "Luke, where's all the food I bought for you gone?"

"I ate it all Daddy. You bought it all last week," Luke whispered, as if he was afraid he was saying something against John. My heart clinched painfully. No matter what condition John had been in, no matter how difficult he'd been, Luke was still afraid of upsetting him. I felt Randy's chest tighten behind me. I knew that he was torn from being upset for his friend and angry at him. As was I. "I found your phone and called Uncle Randy. I'm sorry Daddy!"

"There was no need for that, son," John huffed, running a hand over his face. A ghost of a smile came across his face. A smile that not only didn't reach his eyes, but was completely forced. "I'm sorry he worried you man. Everything's fine. Y'all can get back home now."

"Oh, I can see everything's fine," Randy seethed, and I saw John's shoulders tense. I knew he heard the same testy tone I did. He walked out from behind me, kicking an empty Jack Daniels bottle as he went. One of many bottles, I noted, and my grip tightened around Luke. "How about this, why don't Luke come home with us? He can play with Keith and Tia, we'll take care of him and then you can take care of yourself."

"I don't think so, man," John said, standing up a little straighter, even though he wobbled slightly in his inebriated state. Randy froze half way between me and John. "I'm _fine_. You're not taking my son."

"Lora, take Luke out to the car, and be strapping him in," Randy said, not turning his head from his stare at John. I moved but I heard a scuffle. Glancing back, I saw that John had tried to make for his son, but Randy was quicker. He had him pushed against the wall, his forearm trapping John's shoulders. John glared daggers at him. He lurched again, but Randy knocked him harder into the wall. "John, you made me Luke's godfather, and right now, I'm doing what I think is best. You don't even have any food in this house to feed your _son._ I will not stand by and watch that happen. And I know that Casie wouldn't either. Get your shit together, and I'll give him back to you. But right now, he's coming with us."

Randy let go of John, and he slid down the wall in a heap on the floor. My husband looked down at him, pity momentarily crossing his face. Then he turned around and pushed me from the house. The ride back to our house was quiet. Luke was strapped into Tia's seat in the back and you could just see the downtrodden look on his face. As I turned to stare out of the window, I felt Randy's fingers lace with mine. Keith was ecstatic when we brought Luke back in the door. He loved his cousin of sorts, and was already planning an Avengers battle for after dinner.

"Is my Daddy mad at me?" Luke asked me, as I sat down his plate of chicken and potatoes in front of him. I froze and looked down at him. This little boy, who resembled Casie right now it wasn't funny, peered up at him through impossibly long lashes. I knelt down next to him, putting an arm around his back.

"No, honey. Your Daddy could never be mad at you," I whispered, and gazed into his eyes. Those blue eyes that were a shade darker than John's were broken. I hadn't realized just how lost he was until now. He had lost his mother and now his father was, for all intents and purposes, gone from him. He was all alone. "He's just really sad about your Mommy right now, and misses her terribly. But he loves you very much Luke."

"I miss my Mommy too," his voice was so pitiful that tears crept up in my eyes. I pushed his chair back and pulled him into my arms, clinging tightly to him. He shook against me, and I knew he was crying. I had no words of comfort to ease his pain for his mother. But I could only assure him that he still had people that loved him.

"I know you do, honey, I know. But hey," I said, smiling and pulled away from him. I grasped his face with both of my hands, wiping his tears away with my thumbs. He sniffled slightly and his eyes were bloodshot. "You've always got me and Randy. And we love you very much. And we'll always be there for you."

Luke smiled at my words and hugged my neck one last time before turning back to his plate. I frowned at how hungry he was, but I turned my back on him and saw Randy standing in the doorway. He was staring intensely at me, his expression unreadable. But he didn't have a chance to speak before Keith and Tia came running into the room, joining Luke at the table. I heard Randy huff out in frustration as he leaned against the counter edge. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know if there's anything we can do about John," I murmured, casting a wary glance over my shoulder, making sure Luke couldn't hear us. The little man already had enough to deal with. I walked over to my purse on one of the bar stools and pulled out my phone. "But I may know someone who does."

oo

A terrible couple of days after the wonderful honeymoon, Randy, the kids and I were back on tour. With it being the summer months, and Keith's baseball having come to an end, we packed up the family and went on the road. It was more cramped than it ever was. Keith and Tiegan had to share the top bunk, which meant a fight usually every night, trying to decide on the Avengers or Frozen. No one was ever truly happy about the decision. Luckily, with the twins' occupying the bottom bunk, they both usually wanted to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

I had called Casie's parents to come take Luke from us while we had to travel. I didn't want him going back to John just yet, but neither did I tell her parents the reasons why. I didn't want to put any doubt in their minds about John's capability. While John wasn't in his right mind right now, he kind of had the right to be. That would feel like a betrayal to me. I did know that Genevieve was trying to get through to him. She had immediately offered to help when I told her what was going on. And who better to talk to John than someone who knew exactly what he was going through? I hadn't heard from her to know if there was any progress, so I could only hope. But more pressing matters called my attention.

Tonight was the first Raw I was allowed to book my storylines on in two weeks. I knew Steve was in the building somewhere before me, but I knew Brock Lesnar was not. After I hadn't received any further punishment from the fall out two Raw's ago, I knew that Lesnar had kept his mouth shut on who was really behind the brawl. A fact, that when paired with Steve's unwavering loyalty, caused pride to surge through my veins. Made me believe that I was actually making a difference for some people. Brock was actually out of the country at the moment, preparing to perform a show in Japan.

"Mommy! Can I come with you?" Keith yelled, running to the living room from the back room. I was already at the head of the bus, heading out for the arena. I looked back and saw that he was completely dressed and ready to go. Smiling, I nodded and told him to go tell his father to manage his brother and sisters into the arena. After he came jogging back from our bedroom, we headed off the bus.

Keith, as always, was jabber box to anyone who would listen to him. He stalled us a good fifteen minutes before we got to Steve's locker room. When I pushed the door out of the way, we found Steve Borden painting his face into his Sting character. I was momentarily enthralled. This was my childhood legend in an intimate setting. I was getting to see behinds the scenes, and I was nearly as giddy as my son. Hell, probably more so. He didn't notice our entrance at first. His dark eyes just stared in concentration as he ran the one inch width brush of white across his cheeks.

"That's awesome!" Keith exclaimed, running up behind him, and climbed up on steel chair to get a better look. I smiled softly when Steve chuckled at Keith. Another five minutes of brush strokes and the icon Sting was standing before us. I had to bite my cheek to keep from squealing like a fan girl. When Steve put his brush down, he slipped on his black Sting shirt that the merchandise team had put together, completing the ensemble.

"I could paint your face, if your mother says its okay?" Steve offered, picking up his brush again. I laughed loudly at the pleading look Keith shot me and nodded my acceptance. How could I turn him down? Even I would have loved that.

I took out my phone and took a video and a few snapshots as Sting painted my son's face. He first covered his face in white, from the top of his hair line down to his jaw. Then, with a smaller brush, he covered his eyes each in black, along with his lips. Keith had a problem keeping still and not smiling and laughing but he tried his best when Steve warned him it would cause creases. Finally, with the thinnest brush, he created the black strokes branching off from his eyes and mouth. The streaks from his eyes traveled all the way up his forehead and down across his cheeks, and the strokes from his mouth fell along his chin. I couldn't look at my son without a smile that made my cheeks hurt. My son looked identical to the taller man in front of him. Aside from the drastic color difference in hair.

"Mommy, look! I'm Sting!" Keith exclaimed, jumping up and down in front of me when his face was finished. His white teeth stood out starkly against his black lips. I had Keith stand on the steel chair, next to Steve, and took their picture. Something for my son to covet when he grows up.

After Keith was officially sated from his interactions with Sting, I got to work with him, giving him his details on his spot this evening. He would open the show, calling out Triple H. Paul, of course, would not respond immediately, choosing to make him wait. And while I was not in charge of Randy's involvement in the story line anymore, after having Kane put him out for two weeks, I did know that Randy would be calling out Kane and J&J Security. I was mainly in charge of Sting and Brock Lesnar at the moment, and neither one of them directly crossed paths with my husband. From the little that I had helped on, I knew Randy's challenge would fall on deaf ears, but punishment for his Authority betrayal would be collected. Tonight's main event was a two on three handicap match. Randy's tag partner, Cesaro, had been spouting off about the spine-less ways of the Authority, so both he and Randy would face off against Rusev, Sheamus and the newbie, Kevin Owens.

When Steve and I had finished going over the script, I took Keith back to Randy's locker room. Many people throughout the corridors laughed and commented on my son's new look. He strutted proudly through the halls, clearly enjoying the attention. I pushed Randy's door open, noticing that Randy was surrounded by our other three children. Tia was the first to notice Keith's change in appearance. She gasped and ran over to her brother. She examined him closer, finally falling into a fit of giggles. I made a motion to shush my daughter, seeing that Mack and Zack were asleep in their stroller. Randy turned around from his arena duffle bag, a pair of his wrestling trunks in one hand and his boots in the other. He froze when he saw his son, and smirked up in my direction.

"Et tu Keith?" he murmured kneeling down in front of the red-haired Sting mini me. Even though I couldn't really see his eyebrows any more, I knew that they scrunched together in confusion at his Daddy's words. Randy laughed softly, "First your Mommy passes me over as her favorite for Sting, and now my first born son. It's a blow straight to the heart!"

Randy mocked being shot in the heart, a hand clutching as his shirt as his eyes clinched. Keith sniggered as I pulled him away from his father's fake misery. "Hey, I never said that you were higher up my totem pole than Sting. That's your assumption. And you know what assuming makes of you."

Neither Keith nor Tia knew what I meant, but Randy rolled his eyes at me, and hugged Tiegan tight to his chest. She giggled as her father tickled her side lightly, casting bright green eyes to look up at her Daddy. "I'm still Tia's favorite, right?"

"Daddy is _my_ favorite!" Tiegan boasted, sticking a playful tongue out in Keith's direction. Tia wrapped her arms around Randy's neck and he lifted her from the floor. I shook my head at them, ruffling Keith's hair as the mock battle lines were drawn. While there were no favorites in our household, it was a past time game we liked to play.

oo

Two hours later, Raw had just begun, and Keith and I had watched the opening scene as Sting kicked off the show. The crowd's thunderous chants for the man held up his speech a good three solid minutes. And, if I had to bet, Sting let them go on as along as he wanted. This was the first time he would cut a promo for the WWE, after all. Goosebumps erupted up and down my arms as fifteen thousand people stood on their feet, chanting for this man. The hair on the back of my neck had stood on end when he finally placed the microphone to his mouth.

He wanted Triple H, and wanted to take him down. He was tired of his back stabbing and undermining to get to the top, as he said. And, with the Authority in full swing of corruption and dictation, so did everyone else. He pandered to the crowd while he had given his opinion and his plan of action to challenge Triple H to a match at the upcoming pay per view event, Hell in a Cell, pointing to the looming ominous structure overhead. When Triple H didn't respond or come out, Sting declared that he had all night, and when Triple H was ready to answer him, he knew where to find him.

We had met him when he came back through gorilla station and went back to his dressing room. Keith gave him a high-five, which only made Steve smile down at the six year old. After he left, we started to make our way to the play room to pick Tiegan up to go ringside. But as we turned a corner, we saw a live interview being broadcasted. Renee Young was with Lana, Rusev's ex-valet, asking about her current on-screen cohort Dolph Ziggler's recovery. Lana was dressed in her usually sexy business fashion with her short black skirt and black blazer that was unbuttoned enough to be plenty revealing.

I noticed before the two women did the approach of two others. Rusev himself with his new flavor of the week, Summer Rae. While I had nothing personal to hold against her, there was just something about her that rubbed me the wrong way. Whether if it was how she played dumb to excel or the fact that she looked like a starved bird, I didn't know. But I did notice the change in her usual spandex tight attire. Her new look was, if possible, even more raunchy than Lana's, but the resemblance was not lost on me. Nor to Lana it seemed, once she saw her. They exchanged some heated words before Rusev boldly kissed Summer in front of Lana, even while looking her dead in the eyes.

I rolled my eyes slightly at Keith's small noise of disgust. The older he got, the more he came to dislike any public display of affection that encompassed more than just his parents. But as Rusev walked off, Summer slapped Lana, hard across the face. After a simpering look, the blonde bird walked off, leaving the fans booing in her wake. The camera man called the scene to a close, and I walked over.

"How dare he look at me when he kissed her?" I heard Lana, or C.J. when the cameras weren't rolling, whisper to herself more than to anyone else. Everyone knew that outside of their storyline, they had actually been together. It wasn't but a couple of weeks ago they ended, pretty nastily, if I had heard correctly. She looked up when she saw my feet come into her view and smiled softly, despite the agitation she was feeling. I cast a glance around, seeing that no one of any importance was hovering, and stepped closer to the billed, 'Ravishing Russian'.

"If I were you, I wouldn't stand for that," I whispered, seeing her lock eyes with me. I felt a wave of mischief roll over me, and I knew I should stop. But, sometimes, a girl's just got to look out for other girls, consequences be damned. "I'd do something to bring him and Big Bird down a peg or two."

"What can I do? I'm not scripted to respond in kind," C.J. said, between her laughter at my description of Summer. I waved her off with my hand, lowering my voice even farther.

"I know that he has a match against my husband tonight. I also know that Rusev will lose. So, what's the harm in adding a little salt to the open wound?" I asked, seeing her eyes widen just a fraction as she caught my drift. However, she didn't seem as convinced as I felt. I pulled myself up to my full height, and brushed the front of my clothes. "Besides, if anyone asks you who gave you the go ahead, just give them my name. I'm coming off a two week suspension that held up two major money-making storylines. What more could they do to me?"

I walked off without looking back, Keith's hand in mine. I shouldn't be as giddy as I was, causing mayhem behind the scenes, but I guess one could say I had a little Weasley twins' in me. After I picked up Tia, who had chosen to don her father's newest shirt after our little moment earlier, we took our seats next to Lillian close to the announcer's table. They night passed quickly, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Diva's division had two matches on the show tonight. I didn't think I had seen two women's matches at an event in years. Charlotte fought Brie Bella, and after locking in her Figure Eight, picked up the victory. However, Paige and Becky Lynch weren't so lucky, when Sasha Banks hit Paige with her Bank Statement move, it forced Paige to tap out. But overall, it was still a huge improvement over the previous bouts. The crowd was into it, and Tiegan just enjoyed herself. She was obsessed with Becky; though I kind of had a feeling it was more for the fire orange hair than her actual talent at this stage.

Finally, it was main even time. Kevin Owens came out first, to his own chorus of boos, shortly followed by Sheamus and Rusev. And, as I figured, Lana 2.0 was by his side. I rolled my eyes as she sauntered around the outside of the ring, while Cesaro's music hit. The kids went wild, as they always do, when Randy's music was cued up. They stood in their seats, screaming for him, as he climbed the turnbuckle closest to us. And while Keith may have his face painted like Sting, there really was no doubt who his actual favorite was. His true hero. He worshipped his father. I saw Randy as we caught his eye. His gaze lingered on his two children ringside, before locking his blue eyes with mine. I smiled his way as he smirked and hit his signature pose.

The match went on relatively well. It didn't really hinder Randy or Cesaro too much that they were down a man, because the teamwork between their opponents was atrocious. Tags were more like slaps and sometimes, no one would be in the corner to change out. After Cesaro pushed Kevin Owens into Sheamus, knocking him from his spot outside the ring, Sheamus turned on the Canadian wrestler. After a few shoves and knocks between the two, Sheamus clubbed Owens on the head with both forearms, and took his ball and went home, back to the locker room. It wasn't much longer than that, when Rusev was laying outside the ring, being attended to by Summer somewhere close to us, that Owens went for a tag. When Kevin realized that he wasn't there in his corner, he was livid. Screaming about a Lana wanna-be, and I covered my mouth as I laughed. I saw the amused look on Randy and Cesaro's face as Kevin, literally, wiped his hands clean of Rusev, and took a page of out Sheamus' book.

This left Rusev alone. What was supposed to be Authority punishment now had the tables turned. Rusev was left alone with Randy and the Swiss Superman. Randy quickly capitalized on the Bulgarian, hitting him with, as Michael Cole would say and probably just did, a vintage Orton move; the second rope hung DDT. Keith and Tiegan had their hands cupped around their mouths, cheering out for their father. But a different sight caught my eye. I saw a woman heading down the ramp. I noticed immediately who it was. Lana marched purposefully down to the ring and around towards our side of the barricade, where Summer Rae was waiting. All action in-ring came to a halt as the three men stared dumb-founded at the new arrival.

Lana was staring daggers between Summer and Rusev, who was hanging limply on the bottom rope. Summer, as per usual, was running her mouth as Lana slipped off her shoes. With one heel in hand, she threw it at Summer. She took advantage of the distraction, and she tackled the blonde bird to the ground. I could hear Summer as she screamed, but Lana wasn't letting up. She had her nails dug deep into the bun at the back of Summer's head, yanking and pulling it loose. The Universe loved it, cheering Lana on. I cast a glance at Randy, who was just staring at the surprise interruption. He looked over at Cesaro, who was just as shocked, but smiling all the same, and shrugged. I rolled my eyes at his actions, thinking that no man was invincible to a cat fight. Randy cut his eyes back to me, and I knew he read the guilty, yet proud, look on my face. As Lana stood up to compose herself, she yelled at Summer to never touch her again, and stalked off.

Cesaro tagged Randy as the legal man, but went after Rusev one last time. He locked his legs under his arms, and sent him swinging. I could never watch this move for too long without getting nauseous myself. I would hate to be the poor soul on the receiving end of that. But Randy was waiting, right behind Cesaro, when Rusev landed back in the ring. Cesaro checked over his shoulder, and used a sling-shot move to catapult the Bulgarian into the waiting arms of the poised Viper. The kids weren't the only ones that cheered for that move. It went so fluently that I couldn't help the scream that came. Randy quickly covered him for the pin, getting the three count on Rusev.

The two men celebrated briefly, before Cesaro left the ring to leave Randy to his fans. What Randy didn't notice at first, was the cage above him was being slowly lowered down. I nudged the kids to look up. Sure enough, as planned, Randy was slowly trapped inside the hellacious structure. Without delay, Seth Rollins' music hit, and every single member of the Authority started to head down the ramp. Tia covered her mouth with her hands as Randy slid from the ring briefly to grab a steel chair from under the apron. But even with the equalizer, things were still far from equal. Soon, the ring was surrounded and the cage door locked with Stephanie waiting on the outside and Triple H inside to order his cronies about. Randy braced himself with his chair as J&J Security, Kane and Seth Rollins all started to enter the ropes. This is where it goes off script for Randy.

The lights suddenly cut out at the same time a crow caw echoed throughout the arena. All of a sudden, all the boos suddenly switched back to thunderous cheers as the lights came back up. Somehow, it seemed, Sting had mysteriously appeared inside the cell, alongside my husband. His patented black bat in hand. He had come for his challenge answer, and he was going to get it one way or another. Randy allowed himself mere seconds to be confused. And the look on his face was priceless. He just stared at the man he had come to know quite well behind the scenes, but had no connection with on screen. But with the playing field marginally equal now, Randy just went with it. And I figured, as far as sudden script changes went, this one wasn't so bad. And he knew about them quite well.

It was so surreal to see my favorite of the current era, and my favorite of all time standing in the ring, on the same side, fighting the same battle. I lost all dignity, and went wild as if I was not sitting there, next to the graceful Lillian and my two children. I was twelve years old again, living the greatest moment of my life. Randy hit everyone he could with his chair, and Sting laid into Kane with his bat. Stephanie had been trying desperately to unlock the cage to allow her husband to escape. And he did, as J&J lined up perfectly for a Stinger Splash in one corner of the ring. My screams were met by everyone else in the arena. It was electric in here.

Randy and Sting showboated about as they cleared the ring of all but the crumpled bodies of Jamie and Joey. Sting grabbed Jamie Noble by the neck, and set him up for the Scorpion Deathdrop. But before he hit it, he pointed directly at Triple H, who was fuming and beet red just outside the cage. Sting laid out Noble and then it was Randy's turn to pick the pieces left behind of Joey Mercury. Keith and Tia jumped up and down when Randy started coil like the Viper he portrayed. Sting watched on from the corner as Randy hit Joey with an RKO, leaving them the last men standing in the ring. I couldn't even hear myself think, the roar was so loud. And as Raw went off the air, it seemed like my relationship with wrestling came to head as those two legends in their own right, stood side by side.

 **This was by far the best moment of my (WWE) life! I put a little of myself into this chapter, because, one, I can, and two I couldn't help myself! I still get goosebumps when I watch this clip! GAH! So badass!**

 **RIP RRP!**

 **As always, love love love these guys for their reviews!** _ **kimberly316, KarlishaCullen, RKOsgirl92, Chermayne, guest, bingobaby, AngelsDestiny22 and FIRE-ICEROSE**_


	10. Acceptance

**Hey guys! So sorry it's taken me so long to post a new chapter! I've had a lot of stuff going on, but Randy and Lora have never been far from my mind. Just because I wasn't actively wiggling my fingers, doesn't mean I wasn't plotting in my head! And this break as given me a fresh perspective and I've got, what I hope to be, some really cool ideas!**

 **Chapter 10-** Acceptance

September snuck up in a blur and before we knew it, the day of Hell In A Cell was upon us. When we weren't on the road, Randy and I were surrounded by a house full of kids. We were barely holding our sanity together. Luke was still staying with us on our downtime, while John worked on his problems. Neither Randy nor I had seen him since the night we took Luke from him, but Genevieve gave us periodic updates. From what she told us, progress was going very slow, but some headway was made. She had gotten him off the booze and to take regular showers again. Baby steps, I suppose.

"Mommy! Mr. Heyman is here!" I heard Keith yell out from the tour bus living room. I sighed and rolled my eyes, remembering how many times I had told him to not scream on the bus. He was my son after all, and he had quite the set of lungs on him. I cast a glance at the twins in their bunk as I walked down the short hallway. They were resting comfortably watching Mickey and his gang. When I got to the living room, I saw Randy and Tiegan, sitting at the dining table, coloring in a princess coloring book. I smirked at the sight and turned my attention back to my son, who had already resumed playing his video game with two brothers, who just happened to be plumbers. Paul Heyman, dressed in his best blue suit, was standing next to the staircase that led outside.

"Yes, Paul, what can I do for you?"

But instead of responding, he motioned for me to follow him outside. I knew this was not going to be pleasant. I motioned to Randy, who cast me a guarded glance before I slipped out behind Heyman. As soon as my foot hit the pavement, Paul rounded on me.

"Are you just as slippery as the rest of creative, or do you have a better excuse for my client's recent change in the storyline? First, I find out that not only does my client _lose_ tonight, but there's a new plan for title, that does not include Brock Lesnar?"

I sighed. One week ago, I had been summoned to a meeting, only to find that Vince had called that meeting with just him, me and Mark Calloway. Mark had decided that the time had finally come to retire, and he felt that I should write it for him. I knew immediately who I wanted to end his career, but that left a gapping hole for the WWE title. That's when I came up with the idea that, since Sting was set to win against Triple H in their match tonight, that Steve should had a title match against Seth Rollins at the following pay-per-view, Tables, Ladders and Chairs. So, instead of having Brock win tonight, as I had originally planned, I changed it to where he would lose. Not just lose, but have the Undertaker win dirty, so to lead to more matches. Building up this epic feud to a dramatic showdown. "Paul, I know I promised the world title to Brock, but something's come up."

"And what, exactly, is more important than Brock becoming the champion?" I could see the vein in his head beginning to throb and his face start to blotch slightly.

"Well, you tell me," I retorted, placing both hands on my hips and staring him right in the eyes. I do hate to be interrupted. "How about the claim that _your client_ not only ended the streak, but ended the Undertaker himself?"

"W-What?" Paul stuttered, and I smiled. I did love to make powerful men in the WWE uncomfortable and off-balanced.

"Mark wants to retire, and he wants me to write it for him. And I thought who better to end his career, than the man who ended the streak? Who else could feasibly accomplish that?" I reasoned, seeing the light spark up in Heyman's eyes. I knew what he was thinking. This would be another excellent claim to fame for his client. "Besides, I'm still a little sore about the coo that was pulled during his match with Rollins. But trust me, I haven't forgotten the promise I made to Brock. And I will secure the title for him. However, in the meantime, I don't think he would mind one last, super storyline with the Undertaker, cumulating with his retirement, do you?"

"Well, well, forgive me for doubting you, Mrs. Orton!" Paul's beady little eyes scrunched as he smiled gleefully. It was a slightly uncomfortable sight. "I shall pass this information on to my client and I'm sure there won't be a problem."

oo

The kids and I sat in Randy's locker room with Randy as the show kicked off. Randy had a mid-level card match against Sheamus halfway through the show that would end their current feud. Beyond that, I had no clue where they were going to take my husband. Keith and Tia were sitting quietly on the couch watching the kickoff show, but Mackenzie and Zackary were running amok in the floor, giggling and throwing toys at one another. I had heard the talk about how close twins could be, but it was a serious understatement when it came to Mack and Zack. They were the dynamic duo, though Randy liked to refer to them as the deviant duo. I had to agree with him, because my youngest children looked like angels, but I knew better than most that looks are beyond deceiving.

"Oh Lora, look at this," Randy spoke up, interrupting my thoughts. I looked over at him, to see his phone in his hand, opened to his e-mail application. He chuckled softly, and showed me the e-mail. "My twenty year high school reunion is coming up in November."

"Wow, you really are old!" I mused, earning a dirty look cast my way. I took the phone in my hand and read the message. But it was the sender that caught my attention. I rolled my eyes and chunked his phone back at him. "I didn't know she was the class president."

I knew only a little about Randy's previous dalliances before me, but her name kept cropping up. Oh sure, I knew he was a very active individual before he meet me. Hell, that's how we met. But as for any serious relationships other than me, there wasn't a whole lot to know. Young Randy wasn't much for monogamy. But I knew about her. Samantha Speno. And while I knew I shouldn't have any feelings about her, and I knew it was _way_ before my time, I still hated to hear her name. Maybe it was because she was the only other person he loved besides me, maybe it was because they had been together for six years, I didn't know. But the jealous side of me boiled when I thought about her. Randy caught his phone and I could tell he was fighting against rolling his eyes.

"Lora, we broke up seventeen years ago, I don't see how you get so tore up about her," Randy murmured, trying not to let the kids hear him. He had a point and I knew it. But, sometimes, I didn't care. I raised an eyebrow at him and let out a childish huff, and Randy knew to quickly change the subject. "So, they are adding a new third member to the Wyatt family tonight. Some big guy with the name Braun Stroman. Supposed to be like a black sheep of the family. Scary looking dude."

"'Braun'?" I giggled, immediately distracted from my jealous thoughts. "Are they just trying to be as obvious as possible? I mean, come on! Is 'Braun' supposed to be a play on words for 'Brawn'? It's only a little bit ridiculous!"

Randy laughed out at my words, but didn't get a chance to retort when the locker room door opened. I turned to look and received a tremendous shock. There, in the doorway, was one of my best friends. Adam Copeland strode through the room and I was immediately on my feet, running towards him. A squeal escaped my lips as my arms closed around his neck. He laughed loudly into my ear as he lifted me off the floor.

"Oh, Adam! I missed you!" I screamed, knowing I probably hurt his ears. He put me down, his white teeth beaming at me in a wide smile. I hadn't seen him in over six months. Ever since him and Melina had broken up. It wasn't an ugly break up, but a sad one none the less. They just grew apart and together decided to part ways. As far as I know, they were still friends. "How have you been?"

"I'm doing great!" Adam said, setting me down to move to Randy, throwing one arm around his neck. I watched as Randy whispered something into Adam's ear, causing him to laugh silently behind his hand. I smirked at the two, thinking nothing ever changes between them. But before I could inquire, Adam cleared his throat, casting a look behind me. "In fact, I'm actually here to tell you guys something."

I followed his gaze and turned around to see another figure in the doorway. A figure I never thought I would see again. Edoin Korklan, with her short red hair, pale skin and blue eyes, was standing in front of me. "Edoin?"

"Hey Lora," her voice was meek and sounded shy. And who could blame her, after I had exploded on her the last time we spoke. When she had cheated on Matt, and I chose to take sides. Since then, I had realized that I had been wrong, and that her mistake was against Matt, and not me, and that I should have kept a cooler head. At one time, we had been close friends. Her, Casie and myself. The three of us were inseparable there for a time. Times, since Casie's passing, that I had come to miss terribly. I felt Randy and Adam hovering nervously behind me.

Edoin looked down at her feet, before casting her eyes back towards me. It was then that I noticed how dusty her eyes had become with emotion. "I was terribly upset when I heard what happened to Casie. All I could think about was how terrible a friend I was to her in the end, and how much I missed being with you two."

I bit my lower lip to keep it from shaking. It was as if she had read my mind. And at that point, I couldn't have cared less what mistakes she had ever made, and I lunged across the room, and wrapped her in my arms. It was like having a sliver of Casie back. There were times had, between just the three of us that no one would ever know about. And it felt good to be within reach of those memories again. "Oh Edoin, I am so sorry I treated you the way I did. I've felt terrible about it ever since. We were way too close for me to behave that way!"

"No, no! Don't apologize! I was totally in the wrong and I needed someone to kick me in the ass for me to see that!" She half laughed through her wave of emotion. I couldn't help it and laughed with her.

"Well, if there's ever a need for a good ass-kicking, I hear Lora is the man to go to," Adam said, breaking the moment Edoin and I were having. I pulled away from her to smack his chest playfully. "I heard through the grapevine that someone served a two week suspension for nailing ole Patterson in the face. Oh, what I wouldn't have given to see that in person!"

"Well, I was there. And trust me, it was as magical as people say!" Randy joked, smirking my way. I rolled my eyes at him, sparing him a deserved smack to keep my attention on my two friends.

"What brings the two of you here?" And it was then that I realized the two of them had arrived together. I sobered up and both Randy and I looked between the two of them, silently begging for answers. We didn't have to wait long.

"Well, you know Melina and I broke up six months ago, and obviously Edoin and Matt aren't together anymore," Adam started, but earned a gut slap from Edoin by his choice of words. Her cheeks flushed red from embarrassment and you could tell that she wasn't proud of how her and Matt ended things. Adam's sense of humor was as unique as he was; inappropriate and obnoxious. But I had to fight my laughter still. "We were reunited a few months ago at fan signing event. And since then, we've just been, you know…"

"Dating, you moron!" Edoin finished with a huff, but I could see the light shining in her eyes. She was happy. And I hadn't seen her that happy in a long time. Randy chuckled softly at her words, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. As he pulled me tight, I realized that whenever Randy saw happy couples around him, he always pulled me close to him. I hugged him tighter to me as I watched Adam and Edoin playfully bicker with one another.

oo

The rest of the night went off without a hitch. Sting versus Triple H brought the house down. It was the first time in the history of WWE that Sting had performed in their ring. And it was as epic as I had written it to be. Triple H almost pulled it off, sneaking his legendary sledge hammer into the ring. But not to be one-upped, Sting brought the equally iconic black bat as his equalizer. After a grueling forty-five minute match, Sting made Triple H tap out with the Scorpion Deathlock.

As Randy had mentioned before, Braun Stroman made his WWE debut towards the end of a match between Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper against Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. And just as Randy said, he was a massive amount of man. He had to have been close to seven feet tall and near three hundred pounds. He appeared out of nowhere wearing a black tank top and grungy brown pants. And unlike Erik Rowan, who wore the white sheep mask, Stroman's mask was starkly black. He massacred Ambrose and Reigns and Wyatt stood back, laughing.

The main event was Brock Lesnar going up against the "Deadman," Undertaker. And as unbelievable as I found it, Lesnar was still able to take Undertaker to Suplex City with six or seven suplexes. It was an incredible match. For as many battles Calloway had been in, he still brought it every time he stepped through the ropes. Until he tapped out to Lesnar's Kimora lock. However the only person to notice it was the bell man at the timekeeper's table. He rang the bell, but the referee, who didn't see him tap, restarted the match. It was then Taker took advantage of the distraction and low-blowed Lesnar, trapping him in Hell's Gate. But as Lesnar started to fade, he was hell bent on going out his way. Before he passed out, he flipped off the Undertaker and the referee called the match in the Undertaker's favor.

When the camera's cut off and the show was over, Randy and I began to prepare for the trek back to the tour bus. Mack and Zackary were sleep in their double stroller while Keith and Tia were barely hanging on to consciousness. As I packed the last of the twins' toys in their bag, the locker room door opened, and in walked four men. Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt and Paul Levesque. I looked at them in confusion, before calling out Randy in the bathroom, "Randy, I think you've got some company!"

"Indeed he does," Paul said, smiling slightly at me struggling to wrangle four children together. Dean and Roman hung off to one side, waiting to be spoken to, while Bray looked about the room. While I knew neither Roman nor Bray were their actual names, I was just too exhausted to try to hold multiple names in my head right now. "But, I was actually hoping to speak to the both of you."

"Do I get to be in another story?" Keith perked up slightly at Paul's words. The last time Randy and I needed to be spoken to at the same time; it involved a storyline with the whole family. Paul chuckled lightly and shook his head.

"No, my man, it doesn't involve you, but you are actually close."

"Close about what?" Randy said, coming back into the room, pulling his shirt over his head from his shower. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed the new arrivals. "What's going on?"

"Seeing as I'm sure you two would love nothing more than to pass out in your bed, I'll get down to it," Paul said, taking the forefront of the room. He pulled out some papers from his inner jacket pocket and cleared his throat. "I'm sure you both noticed the new arrival to the Wyatt family tonight; Braun Stroman. And for anyone that can't do simple math, that means Ambrose and Reigns are outnumbered. I was planning on writing Randy in to join them as their third partner."

"Oh, that sounds cool and all, but what's the incentive for my character?" Randy said, jumping straight into business mode. I always found it a little bit sexy that he could juggle so many hats at once. Father, husband and wrestler to name a few. "I don't see a correlation in our on screen personas."

"I'm getting to that. It'll start off with these two guys coming to you for aid. They will need to find a third partner and who better to ask," Paul said, and I had this strange feeling he was just trying to butter him up. It felt like he was trying to build up to something bigger. "And this is where I'm going to need you to remain quiet and just let me put the whole plan out there before you pass any judgements. Randy agrees to think about their request in an on screen backstage segment. After Randy cuts the segment, the camera pans left to see Bray hiding in the shadows, shock and intrigue on his face. Not for Randy, but with the red-headed woman by his side. Lora."

"You want me back in a storyline?" I asked incredulously. My heart fluttered rapidly in my chest, but from fear or excitement, I wasn't sure. If I was honest with myself, that storyline with Randy, Mike and I a few years ago was exciting as hell. But it put a lot of strain on my marriage, not to mention that I was showed off in front of thousands of people.

"If it's not one Orton, it's the other," Paul masked his slight frustration with a small laugh. I shut my mouth and motioned for him to continue. Randy had become suspiciously quiet. I didn't know how he would react to this, seeing as the last time I had gotten hurt. "Bray will become obsessed with her. It'll build over a few shows, before he ultimately kidnaps her. And before you start Randy, this storyline holds no danger of Lora ever being put into any wrestling moves or any real physical danger. Once she is kidnapped, that will cement Randy's involvement with Ambrose and Reigns."

"But, why? What would be her part in this? Why would he kidnap her?" Randy spoke this time, asking everything that was going through my head. Paul nodded his head towards Bray, and he took his cue to step forward. And while he was not in character at the moment, he was still dressed as such. And still held that creepy vibe to him.

"She would be our Sister Abigail."

oo

The Orton clan had finally made it back to St. Louis early Monday morning, only to stop for a few hours before heading back out to Jefferson City, the state capitol of Missouri, for tonight's Raw. Paul had given us twenty-four hours to think over his proposal. I had no idea what I was going to do. Did I want to get involved again? I mean, the idea of being with Randy again on screen was thrilling. To have the whole world see that he still loved me above all others, and to all the lengths, however scripted, he would go for me. But I had a lot on my plate already, between my three different storylines; Sting, Lesnar/Taker and the Diva's revolution. Albeit, I had pawned a lot of the Revolution off onto a close friend of mine, but I still had final say, to sign off. And what would Randy think? We really hadn't had a moment's peace to discuss it.

Of course, Keith and Tiegan had heard Paul's proposal, and they were both for it. They loved it when they saw their mother and father on TV at the same time. I sighed as I pushed the door open to our house to let the kids run through. Throwing my purse down by the door, I walked to the couch and flopped down. Closing my eyes, I leaned my head to the back cushion, reveling in a sliver of silence. When I felt the couch dip next to me, I peeked through one eye and saw that Randy had joined me. I couldn't discern the look on his face.

"What do you think, Randy?" I asked, pulling my legs underneath me to sit Indian style, turning to face him. "Do you think I should do this?"

"Oh, that's totally up to you, Lora. Besides, if I told you not to do it, that would only make you do it," Randy mused, smirking my way. I rolled my eyes at him. "You know I relish any time I get to show you off to the world. And Paul did promise that you weren't going to be put into any danger's way. But I'll stand by you, whatever choice you decide."

"Say I do this, and they 'kidnap' me, could you imagine the outfits they'd want to put me in?" I giggled, more to myself, but Randy laughed along with me. I cringed at the thought. "I would absolutely _refuse_ to wear coveralls and sweat stained t-shirts!"

Laughter ripped from my husband's throat, obviously picturing the horrifying image in his mind. A shrill ringing erupted through the room, emanating from Randy's front jeans pocket. Trying to control his laughter, he answered the phone without looking.

"Hello?" I saw the amusement die from his face immediately, and my heart dropped. Randy murmured a few small worded responses before finally hanging up. Randy saw the distressed look on my face, and quickly waved me off. "It's nothing. It was just John. He wants us to come over. Says he has something to tell us."

I groaned, totally not in the mood to deal with anything stressful. Randy quickly called Becky to see if she could come watch the kids. Of course, she could and within thirty minutes, we were on that familiar track to John's place. As per usual, it didn't take us long to get there. Randy had to basically pull me from the car and push me up the walkway. He didn't knock; he never does, and pushed the door out of his way.

Once we were inside, I noticed an immediate change. The last time I had been in this house, it reeked of booze, trash was everywhere and it was downright depressing. However, at a glance, this was not the same house as it was. Every surface was so spotless, I was almost sure that I could eat off any surface. The curtains were drawn, and natural light filled the place. No liquor bottles as far as my eye could see and the house smelled of candles bought from a frilly shop in the mall. I gaped as I walked into the kitchen to examine the food supply. The pantry was stocked to the brim with canned goods, boxed dinners, with snack of all kinds and the refrigerator held fruit and vegetables and Capris Sun's, Lunchables and Snack packs.

"Quite the difference, isn't it?" I jumped at the sound of John's voice. When I turned, I received the biggest shock since we arrived. No longer stood the John that was a gaunt, un-showered heap of a mess, but a shadow of the John of old. He had a bit more color in his cheeks, he looked as if he had added even more muscle to his already pumped out physique. His clothes were clean and he looked good. I literally let out a sigh of relief. "I apologize for the last time you saw me. It was no excuse, and I realized how it was hurting Luke. I am eternally grateful to you two for helping me see that."

I couldn't say anything. I looked up at Randy and he looked just as speechless as I did. Stepping away from Randy, I walked to John cautiously. I was praying that I wasn't dreaming; that my best friend had finally started to come back to us. Because as glad as I was to have Edoin back in my life, John was my real connection to Casie. When I was brand new in this business, I had two friends. And for a while there, it felt like I had lost both of them. John looked down at me sadly, and I could see the shame on his face. I knew that he was genuinely sorry for his actions and I pulled him hard into a hug.

"It's about damn time," I whispered into his chest as tears clouded my eyes. Large arms closed around my shoulders as John hugged me back tightly. I could feel him shaking slightly, as if his emotions were getting the better of him too.

"If you hadn't have sent me Ginny to help, I doubt I would be standing here right now. I didn't care what happened to me. I wasn't thinking about Luke. I was just thinking about how miserable my life was. She showed me how selfish that was of me. She kicked my ass into gear. I have to admit, I fought her every step of the way. I've never hit a woman, but I contemplated it multiple times with her."

"Well, that's nice to know," a bright and bubbly voice spoke out, and I pulled away to see Genevieve standing in the living room behind John. Her smile was blinding and at the moment I loved her. Loved her for bringing my friend back to me. John chuckled slightly at her words before looking over my shoulder to Randy.

"She busted my ass to get me back into shape, forcing me to clean the entire house and to even put up decorations I had removed," with that, he motioned towards the walls, and table tops around us. I looked where he pointed and choked back a sob. He had replaced every picture that had Casie in it. I walked over to particularly good family photo just after Luke had been born. I ran my finger slowly down the face of my dead friend. John's voice pulled me back to reality. "I was hoping, once you saw all this, and heard me out, if I could get Luke back? I really miss my son."

Randy crossed the room and did something he rarely did to another man; the two armed hug. The Big Foot of all man-hugs. Emotion lumped tighter in my throat, because as much as it had pained me to see John the way he was, I never stopped to think how it affected Randy. They had been friends a decade more than John and me. "You got it man. I'm so glad you're back."

 **Again, SO sorry for the long wait! I apologize! And as for the Sting/Trips match, I made him win because I think it's ridiculous to bring him back only to lose at every ppv he wrestles at.. –coughcough-WWE-coughcough-…**

 **And what do you think, should Lora become Sister Abigail?! It's something I was toying with for a while, and I think I'm going to go for it! I've been waiting for WWE to do something with her, as they mention her a whole lot.**

 **And I'm so glad that John is getting back to normal. It's never easy to lose someone you love; I just hope that I captured it as best as I could! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! As always, I love you guys!**

 **Thanks to those that have reviewed already! !** _ **kimberly316, KarlishaCullen, RKOsgirl92, Chermayne, guest, bingobaby, AngelsDestiny22 and FIRE-ICEROSE**_


	11. The Devil's Rejects

**Hey guys! I've got a couple chapters planned for the holidays, so there will be some Christmas joy coming to keep you warm in this winter wonderland! So, Merry Christmas! Lol, sorry, I enjoy Christmas a little too much!**

 **Chapter 11-** The Devil's Rejects

It had been thirty days since I had agreed to be Sister Abigail for the Wyatt family. One whole month. And in that month, things had progressed very slowly. That Monday when I had informed Paul that I was on board, Raw started by showing a back screen shot that had nothing to do with Randy or myself. If one was paying attention to Paige being interviewed by Renee Young, they would have seen us enter the arena together, being seen on camera together for the first time in years. It was later that night, when Randy and I were strolling purposely through another backstage interview that we caught Bray's eye. The camera showed us walking off screen, Bray slinking out of the shadows and staring our way with a look of astonishment.

After that, things had only just progressed. For the past three Monday Night Raw's, Bray had only observed from the shadows, and never actually made a move. Hell, no one even knew what he was after. The twitter on the forums was that he was after Randy, sensing that Ambrose and Reigns were close to asking him to join. Randy had tagged with Roman and Dean a few times in the last month to add fuel to that fire. No one really connected the looks Bray was giving to me, at least.

But, despite the slow start, I had been having the time of my life already. It was a big choice, making this decision. I was taking on at least four months of on screen spots and promos and touring. It was different when I was just traveling with Randy a little, and handling my end of the WWE business from our kitchen. I was extremely grateful for Elaine and Bob agreeing to come live in our home for the duration of the story arc. Randy wasn't too happy when I allowed his parents the use of the master bedroom, but it was only fair, for their sacrifice. And we had only been home a couple of days each week, and it would only lessen as the story progressed and I was needed for extra spots.

It was a little strange, being on the road again with just Randy. Ever since Keith had been born, we rarely travelled alone anymore. If the trip from our home in St. Louis wasn't far from the Raw arena, we took the bus. But for longer trips, such as this one, we flew and stayed in hotel rooms just like in the beginning of our relationship. I had nearly forgotten what it was like to not have to rush to do everything, even the simplest thing, like bedtime. Randy and I could just lie around on the hotel bed until our bodies drifted off to sleep. Not that we didn't miss our children however. Every night that we were away Elaine set up Randy's computer at home and with my computer with us, and we Skyped through dinner. Whether or not it was time for our dinner, we still listened to the kids tell us about their day, bicker with one another and gush about when we were coming home.

I had officially signed over the Diva's Revolution to the newest, yet, freshest member of WWE creative, Noelle Foley. Noelle was a spunky little girl that had a lot of quirk to her. Although some of the veteran members thought her silly by making online videos of her playing with action figures, I saw something else. Her fan following. Like her father, the girl just had the love of the people. I had a soft spot for her, because of how everyone else on the team viewed her. They just saw her as someone whose name got her a job. But, just because she was the daughter of WWE legend, Mick Foley, that shouldn't hinder her success. I knew how she felt; it wasn't that long ago that people viewed me as just Mrs. Randy Orton. It was a hard road to earn the respect for Lora Orton, Creative Head.

Last night had been the pay-per-view, TLC; Tables, Ladders and Chairs. I, technically, had the night off. Vince didn't think a TLC pay-per-view was a big enough stage to initiate the next stage in the Brock and Taker line. He was holding off for a rematch at the Royal Rumble. And while I was in charge of the main event, Sting vs. Seth Rollins, there was no more prep work on my end. All that was left to do was for Steve and Seth to go out there, and lay it all on the line. Seth went out there with his over-confidence and superiority and Sting was a man with nothing to lose. And Sting took Seth Rollins to school that night. People were on their feet the entire match and for an additional fifteen minutes while Sting basked in the glory of attaining yet another world title. The secondary main event was a tag match between Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns against Luke Harper and the newest Wyatt family member, Braun Stroman. This was his official wrestling debut in a WWE ring, but he had laid carnage for the last few weeks. Reigns and Ambrose gave it their all, but with the numbers, as Bray Wyatt stood ringside, were not favorable. They held on for twenty solid minutes, but they lost in the end.

And now, I find myself standing in the open country somewhere in Louisiana. Monday Night Raw was at the Superdome in New Orleans tonight, so we were on location filming a promo video. It was to feature a flashback for Bray Wyatt, back to when he had his Sister Abigail. Hence the outfit Hair and Makeup put me in. I looked like something straight out of a Rob Zombie horror movie. My hair was a perfectly tangled mess of couple fake dreads, braids and so much hairspray that I got a contact high. My hair was the picture of dirty, demented Cajun chic. And my outfit was on par as well. I was extremely thankful that I saw no coveralls in sight. They had me in an old pale blue flannel shirt that had the sleeves cut off and made into a form-fitting tank top that angled lower on one hip. My skirt was floor length, and made of layers of white, sheer fabric with slits up the outside of each leg. It moved and flowed that gave my actions an ethereal look about them. Several layered necklaces hung form my neck, displaying several small bones that I hoped were fake, and other creepy looking trinkets that completed the look. I was barefoot, and Makeup even went as far as smudging dirt artistically on my feet.

"Oh, this is excellent!" A voice boomed, and I turned to see Bray and his two brothers strolling out from a production truck on site. But it was Paul Levesque that had spoken. He swaggered in behind the trio, a beaming smile on his face. "Lora, you look great! Weird as hell, but still great!"

"Um... thank you?" I laughed, falling into step next to him as we trucked through a few more trees to get to the scene clearing. It was times like this, walking barefoot through some woods, that I was thankful that I had grown up in the South, and this was common practice.

"Where's Randy? I assumed he would be here, to watch out for you. He's been looking at me and the rest of the Wyatt's like we're evil kidnappers, twisting our handlebar mustaches and going to tie you to some train tracks," Paul chuckled, pulling a small branch out of the way for me.

"He's not coming. He's stayed at the arena to go over story details with Dean and Roman," I said, snatching my skirt loose from a small bush of briars. This trek through the damp swamp area really added to that dirty look we were going for. The white material at the bottom was starting to get covered in a light layer of dust. "Besides, he distracts me when he's just staring at me. This airs tonight, and we don't have a lot of time to slow down production because he's breathing down my neck."

"Spoken like a true superstar! Alright, let's get to work!" Paul said, and I followed behind him and the rest of the guys, hoping I wouldn't screw this up.

oo

I arrived back at the arena four hours later and I was exhausted. I didn't really _do_ a whole lot physically, but it had been mentally draining. First of all, it had been extremely muggy and humid in the swamp, even for the first of November. I knew all too well that the South didn't have seasons like the rest of the country, and a true winter was almost as elusive as a UFO. I had sweat so much that my fake dreads clung to me. Secondly, we had been constantly busy. Changing scenery, moving around the lot for a better shot; hell, they even put me up a tree! Which wasn't all that fun, as I'm not a super fan of heights.

Finally, what was required of me today was not the same as it was last time. Last time, I was myself. I didn't have to be anyone other than Lora Orton. No one does me, better than me. But this time, I had to be someone else, someone a total one-eighty from reality. I was Sister Abigail today, and Abigail is dark and scary and has this strange obsessive love for Bray. I felt extremely stupid at first, and it was stiff and forced and oh so terrible. After an hour of me wasting everyone's time and me feeling like I had made a huge mistake, Bray took me to one side. It shocked me, because he had barely spoken two words to me before. Sure, he had been talking _at_ me for an hour, but that was his full character. When he spoke to me, he was genuine and sincere and he actually helped me a lot.

" _Listen, you've just got to shake it off. Block out all the cameras, and people behind them. Don't look at them, just keep your focus on me," he said, forcibly turning my back to the camera crew and a worried-looking Paul, no matter how hard he was trying to hide it. I forced my eyes to meet Bray's steel blue eyes. "Keep your focus on the feel of you, dressed like that, with my words echoing around the eerie swap around us. You have to believe, if only for a few moments. You have to believe in the words, believe in it all. Keep your concentration."_

And after that, things went more smoothly. Well, as smoothly as it could. I guess it is a good thing that it only took four hours to shoot a three minute promo. I pushed open Randy's locker room door and ignored everything I saw and flopped down on the couch. As much as I wanted to face-plant into the leather cushion, I fell more gracefully because I had just come from Hair and Makeup. I shut my eyes and didn't even open them when I heard a deep chuckle by my feet. I knew it was Randy and I must have kicked my legs onto him in my descent. His hands closed around my ankles briefly with a soft squeeze and then rested lightly on my calves, gently massaging them with his fingers, "Tired much?"

"You don't know the half of it. Well, I suppose to you do know, don't you?" I groaned, rolling over so that I was lying on my back. Randy laughed softly again, keeping his hands on my legs. "But still, who would've thought it would've been that tiring? Hell, I am a working mother of four, and I feel like I could sleep for days, and my kids aren't even in the same state!"

"Yes, but you've been a mother of four for quite some time now," Randy countered, his hands slowly running from my ankles up to my knees and back. "I remember when Keith was born, we _both_ suffered from sleep deprivation. And again with Tia. And do I really have to remind you what happened when we were finally out-numbered? Look at us now! We should get parents' of the year awards, and our kids are lucky to have us."

"Oh yeah, lucky them!" I smirked, kicking him in the stomach lightly with my shoe, carefully aiming the stiletto heel away from him. Randy huffed and rubbed his stomach from the impact, sending me a mock glare. I sat up, pulling my feet under me, and leaned towards my husband.

"What I meant by that was, you didn't know what you were doing then, but you learned. Learned quickly. And within weeks of each birth, you rose up and morphed into a new version of you. A version that could, somehow, always manage to do it all," my heart fluttered slightly, as it always did when Randy spoke lovingly to me. He bent his head and rested his forehead on mine. I closed my eyes, but somehow I knew he was still staring at me. "You did it then, and now is no different. There is nothing you can't do."

I didn't say anything, but quickly closed the small gap between us, and crushed my lips to his. My heart was expanding painfully in my chest as I clung to Randy, relishing in his words. I was just getting up on my knees to move to his lap when I heard to door swing open. I jumped away from Randy as quickly as I could, pretending to be innocent, and turned to see who just slammed the door open.

"Good to know four kids don't slow down the marital bliss!" John Cena said, sauntering into the room. I rolled my eyes, more towards myself blushing after all these years than at John's words. No, I had missed John and his inappropriate comments since Casie passed away. He just hadn't been the same since her death. But now, slowly but surely, John was coming back to us. I sent prayers up nightly for both John and for Genevieve, because had it not been for her, Lord knows where John would be. She was even welcoming Luke into her home when John wasn't home. Luke just admired Thomas and Keith and followed them around constantly.

"So, it's your first night back on a live show, are you excited?" I asked, changing the subject from me as fast as I could. John came over and sat down on the other side of me on the couch. John smiled brightly at my words. He was just as excited to be back as anyone. Once he had finally started grieving properly, he was able to live again and start rebuilding his life.

"Hell yes! Don't get me wrong, I love doing house shows, but it's nothing compared to Monday night's, you know?" John mused. He had been back to doing house shows for the last three weeks, just to ease back into the business. So far, he had performed phenomenally. And Vince decided to give him the clear to television again. "And you? How did your promo go? That starts tonight doesn't it?"

"Oh yes, and don't remind me," I worried, clasping my hands together and picked at my fingernail polish. Every time I thought about this morning, I wanted to crawl in a hole and never reemerge. "I just hope they can edit well enough to make something out of the nothing they received. I'm actually about to have to go get stalked by Bray to open the show."

I whimpered and pushed myself off the couch. Randy smiled and shook his head at my attitude, his confidence in me never waving. He snatched my hand before I could get out of reach, and pulled me down to kiss my lips. "You'll do brilliantly."

"Love you too," I giggled and swept from the room.

This was it, tonight would start my second storyline with the WWE. And I thought I was nervous the last time. I had to force myself to put one foot in front of the other to keep moving. Turning a corner, I ran into an extremely wide chest. Bray Wyatt caught me before I could lose my balance and chuckled softly. He didn't ask if I was ready, he didn't ask if I was okay; he didn't say anything but walked on to our spot in silent. And I was thankful for that, I was really tired of talking about how much of a failure I was going to be. Two more hallways and a whole lot of deep, calming breaths then we were there.

"Alright, they're here right on time! We've got five minutes to get set up, let's go!" And just like that, Paul was in business mode. I was positioned and handed a stack of papers that were 'scripts', and when action was called, and the show went on the air, I heard Bray start giving his opening live promo, and I began walking.

Bray's voice stuttered to a halt when I was close enough and the camera panned his eye line to see me handing out papers to stagehands. I ignored Bray sneaking up behind me, forcing myself to chit chat lightly with the woman in front of me. I yelped after I turned around. He was so close I bumped into him, sending all my papers cascading over my feet. Somewhere in my subconscious, I heard the crowd's reaction to seeing me on camera's center focus again. But I couldn't look away from those blue eyes. He didn't say a word, just stared at me.

"M-may I help you?" I stammered, hoping I looked scared enough. Bray stepped closer and gently lifted a small braid that had been left there from this morning. A few braids had been woven in stylishly, pulling my hair half back away from my face. It was supposed to help trigger Bray's flashback later. I held my breath as he dropped the braid.

"Yes, you may," and with that, he walked away, leaving the camera focused on me, staring terrified after him.

oo

Later that night, we were all in the cafeteria, where a large TV was set up of the live feed. It was for all the other superstars that hadn't earned their own locker room yet. Everyone was in here, which was why I chose to watch the promo here. I wanted to see everyone's reaction to it. To judge myself by them. But now, with the promo only minutes away and Bray already in the ring to set it up, I felt like it was huge mistake. I stood up to run back to the locker to watch it in private. But before I could take a step, Randy grabbed my hand for the second time in two hours and pulled me back down. He wrapped his arm around mine and laced our fingers.

"Whatever the outcome tonight, I am very proud of you and I always will be," Randy whispered in my ear. Smiling, I took a deep breath, grabbed Randy's forearm with my other hand, and turned my eyes towards the screen. Bray was walking around the ring, with Luke and Braun standing still as statues behind him. He had a microphone in his hand and he was pacing the ring slowly.

"She taught me from a young age," Bray drawled out, turning his head towards the sky. He took a deep breath and blew it out roughly into the microphone. "She said, you gotta get them… before they get _you_ ," he yelled out to the arena. He walked behind Stroman and Harper, patting them both on the back. "We all understood her. She led with _love_ , oh yes! But she was so much more than that! She taught with fire and shadows of the night! The way she danced as she called to the otherside made grown men weep! 'The world was an evil place' she would whisper, 'but evil was our friend too'. We agreed. We _all_ agreed!

"She made me what I am! Her belief in me will not go forgotten. She loved me when _no_ one else did!" Bray fell to his knees in the middle of the ring, the whole arena dark save one spot light directly on him. "She pulled me close. She held me as she whispered, 'You're the one. They chose you'. I understood what she meant then, and I still do now! It's her work! It's all for her. Her grace can save you, but by the otherside of the coin, her kiss could burn you to the ground. I love you, Sister Abigail."

The screen went dark and a video began to play. My heart began to beat in my chest. This was it. The video cut to Bray, standing alone in the swamp. It was the same kind of video you could expect from the Wyatt's, with the quick scene changes and creepy B-roll film of snakes and spiders and other matter of fear-inducing sights. A soft humming began to sound, deep and gruff. It was Bray humming 'Amazing Grace'. I watched, unblinkingly, as a female figure you could only see clearly from the back and sides swept into the scene. She moved languidly around, circling Bray sensually. The camera made quick cuts in angle to her dirty feet and tattered skirt, up to her matted red hair and dingy flannel top.

A rocking chair popped up out of nowhere in the video, and Bray sat down upon it, with Sister Abigail circling the chair slowly. Her hand trailed along his shoulders and fingered the wood of the chair delicately. Then there was another voice humming along with Bray. It was mine. The two voices, one deep and gruff with the other being light and soft combined to make the most eerie song ever heard in the presence of a Wyatt member. Then Bray was gone from the scene and it was just her. The scene kept flashing from her lying on a large tree branch with one leg hanging down, to dancing in the field as if she was trying to summon creatures from the otherside. Then Bray was back in the chair, and Abigail was bent over, whispering in his ear. There still hadn't been a clear shot of her face, and this was no different. Her red hair hung down covering all but her mouth.

The scene cut back to just Sister Abigail, and Bray's voice quit humming and all the eerie music was gone. It was just a female voice humming what should be a beautiful song. The woman on the screen stood with her back to the camera as it zoomed in on her slowly. The screen was going semi-dark and fuzzy, so that by the time the camera panned up, all you could see was the woman's mouth. She was still humming, and Bray's voice kept repeating, "She's coming…. She's coming…. She's coming."

Then the humming stopped, and so did Bray's voice. Then a soft woman's voice whispered one word before the screen cut black and the promo was over. "Run!"

 **So, what do you think of your first taste of my Sister Abigail so far? I know, I know, the chapter is a bit short. I didn't want to cut it off, because of that, but where we're going directly after this, really needs to start in its own chapter, because I didn't want to soften the reveal of S.A.! Thanks for hanging in there with me guys, and like I said, I hope to get at least 2, maybe, more chapters before the end of the year, as holiday gifts for you ever so loyal readers!**

 _ **kimberly316, KarlishaCullen, RKOsgirl92, Chermayne, guest, bingobaby, AngelsDestiny22 and FIRE-ICEROSE and Amanda35125!**_


	12. The Breakfast Club

**Chapter 12-** The Breakfast Club

 **Randy**

" _Whatever the outcome tonight, I am very proud of you and I always will be,"_ I whispered in Lora's ear. The look on my wife's face clearly showed her fear of what was about to happen. But she smiled up at me all the same and clutched at my arm with her free hand, turning her attention towards the screen.

Bray was walking around the ring, with Luke and Braun standing still as statues behind him. He had a microphone in his hand and he was pacing the ring slowly. I had no idea what had happened out on location today, because Lora wouldn't give me any details. Before she went, she said she didn't want to spoil anything. But now, she didn't want to talk about it because she was afraid she had failed. I was equally as nervous seeing her as she was. Not because I didn't believe she couldn't handle anything thrown her way, but I just wanted everything to turn out perfectly for her. I shook myself from my thoughts, forcing my eyes back on the screen.

"She taught me from a young age," Bray drawled out, turning his head towards the sky. He inhaled deeply and blew it directly into the microphone. "She said, you gotta get them… before they get _you_ ," he yelled out to the arena, an unusual calm around the arena. He walked behind Stroman and Harper, patting them both on the back. My heart thudded wildly; he was talking about Lora. "We all understood her. She led with _love_ , oh yes! But she was so much more than that! She taught with fire and shadows of the night! The way she danced as she called to the otherside made grown men weep! 'The world was an evil place' she would whisper, 'but evil was our friend too'. We agreed. We _all_ agreed!

"She made me what I am! Her belief in me will not go forgotten. She loved me when _no_ one else did!" Bray fell to his knees in the middle of the ring, the whole arena dark save one spot light directly on him. "She pulled me close. She held me as she whispered, 'You're the one. They chose you'. I understood what she meant then, and I still do now! It's her work! It's all for her. Her grace can save you, but by the otherside of the coin, her kiss could burn you to the ground. I love you, Sister Abigail."

The screen went dark and a video began to play. This was it. I chanced a glance down to my wife's face. Her eyes were wide and unblinking, fixed to the broad screen before her. The video cut to Bray, standing alone in the swamp. It was the same kind of video you could expect from the Wyatt's, with the quick scene changes that almost make me carsick from the rapid movements. A soft humming began to sound, deep and gruff. It was Bray humming 'Amazing Grace'. The Wyatt's had a knack for taking innocent and loving songs and making them demonic. I watched, unable to turn away, as a female figure swept into the scene. The cursed camera angles refused to show her face, even though I knew very well who it was. However, the woman on the screen was not my wife.

This was our first look at Sister Abigail. While this woman looked like my Lora, she couldn't have been more different. Sister Abigail was beautiful, but in a dark and twisted way. The camera made quick cuts in angle to her dirty feet and tattered skirt, up to her matted red hair and dingy flannel top, only allowing her cheek to show. She moved languidly around, her movements graceful and sinister, circling Bray sensually. Something far away, deep in my chest grumbled dangerously seeing her hands caress his shoulders. I mean, it wasn't like watching Mike try to stuff his tongue down her throat, but it was the way she did it. I almost wanted to scoff at Lora's insecurities about her performance, because what I was watching looked so real.

A rocking chair popped up out of nowhere in the video, and Bray sat down upon it, with Sister Abigail circling the chair slowly. Her hand trailed along his shoulders, causing me to shift a bit uncomfortably, and she fingered the wood of the chair delicately. Then there was another voice humming along with Bray. A woman's voice. Then my mouth popped open in surprise. It was the same voice I heard that sang to our kids. The two voices, Bray's deep one with Sister Abigail's being light and soft combined to send chills down my spine, and I heard a murmur from the crowd around us. A part of me wondered if the kids were watching it at home, hearing their mother sing on television. Then Bray was gone from the scene and it was just her.

The scene kept flashing from her lying on a large tree branch with one leg hanging down, to dancing in the field as if she was trying to summon creatures from the otherside. It looked as if voodoo or hoodoo had been their inspiration, and Lora had definitely done her homework. Because this Sister Abigail looked like she belonged to the Wyatt's; that she was the queen of the otherside. Then Bray was back in the chair, and Abigail was bent over, whispering in his ear. There still hadn't been a clear shot of her face, and this was no different. Her red hair hung down covering all but her mouth. Her full lips, which had been painted a dark brownish red moved around the words she spoke to Bray. With his Sister Abigail being the voice in his head, he kept repeating the same thing, over and over again.

" _She's coming…. She's coming…. She's coming."_

The scene cut back to just Sister Abigail, and Bray's voice quit humming and all the eerie music was gone. Lora was the only one left humming, and it sounded so beautiful, but it had been twisted into something dark. The woman on the screen stood with her back to the camera as it zoomed in on her slowly, panning up in a circle around her body. Her hands weaved through the air around her. The screen was going semi-dark and fuzzy, so that by the time the camera reached her face, all you could see was the woman's mouth. Then the humming stopped, and so did Bray's voice. Her lips parted, whispering one word before the screen cut black and the promo was over.

" _Run!"_

The lights came back on and the Wyatt's had left the ring. And as the show moved forward with another match, I turned to my wife next to me. She was still staring at the screen. I looked over her head to John, who had sat next to her when the promo had started. He looked just as shocked as I felt. I knew Lora would knock it out of the park, but hell, I didn't think it would be that good. That had to be the best Wyatt promo they've done yet. A smile started to pull at John's mouth. But before I could say anything, Lora bounded on me.

"That was good, right? Like, I'm not just imagining it?" Lora gushed, her gaze imploring me to answer. She was so antsy that she was nearly bouncing in her seat. "You'd tell me if that sucked? I mean, you're supposed to say it was good because you're my husband and you're supposed to support me no matter what. But I don't want you lying to save my feelings. The last thing I need is to make a foo—" Lora ranted, until I covered her mouth with my hand. Muffled words slowly trickled off into silence. Her big green eyes begging me to say something.

"Lora, that was fantastic!" I said, finally breaking into a smile. I removed my hand and Lora grabbed it with both of hers. I cupped her face with my free hand and she leaned into my touch. "And no, I'm not just saying that. You were an extremely sexy dirty Cajun voodoo queen!"

"That's not exactly what we were going for," Lora giggled, standing up from the bench. I followed her suit, and we worked our way through the crowd of superstars that wanted to congratulate Lora. "I mean, I guess I see the voodoo part, which is actually pretty cool, but I don't know how one can be sexy and dirty at the same time."

"Beats me, but you manage to do it," I replied, waving at Paul at the far end of the corridor. But before we got there, I pulled Lora out of the throng of people leaving the room and pushed her against the wall opposite the cafeteria door. "I'm serious Lora. That was incredible. I don't know why you were so worried. That was exactly what I was expecting from you and more. And like I said earlier, I couldn't be more proud of you."

Lora grabbed me with both hands by the collar of my shirt and kissed me flush on the lips. Grunting in surprise, I quickly responded, wrapping my arms around her waist. My wife was always the happiest when her plan came together. "Thank you Randy. Thank you for everything. Thank you for not pushing me, one way or the other. Thank you for just letting me do this. I felt like I could, but if you hadn't been there, just listening to me and talking things through, I wouldn't have made it. I couldn't have done this alone."

"Yes you could have, with or without me, but you're welcome all the same," I laughed, draping my arm around her shoulders and starting steering her down the hall. "Though, I don't know how I feel about the relationship between Bray and Sister Abigail. It irked me more than it should."

"Aw, is my husband a little jealous? That's actually kind of sexy though," she confessed with a wicked smile, leaning into my chest. "But I was actually thinking the same thing earlier. I don't know if they are 'together' or what, but I want to know if she's his _actual_ sister or not. I mean, I know us Wyatt's look like country inbreeders, but I would prefer not to be."

"Yes, well, as would I," and for that comment, I earned a slap in the gut. She got suddenly quiet when we reached Paul, who had been joined by Bray and his storied brothers. Lora always clammed up when she was awaiting judgement of a boss. I raked my eyes over Paul's face, to see if I could gage his reaction. Over the years, I had seen a lot of Paul Levesque. I had seen the best of him and the worst of him. I even came into my own in this business because of him. You could say that I knew Paul probably about as well as Stephanie. I saw the light behind his eyes that Lora could not. But rather than butting in, I chose to let her find out on her own. We stopped right in front of them, and they all turned our way.

"Well?" She asked, her voice barely heard to the five men around her.

"Exceptional work, Lora," Paul said, smiling brightly, stepping forward to hug her quickly. I saw every feature on her face soften at his words and relief flooded her eyes. "Whatever Bray said to you this morning, you keep that in mind. Now, what we'll do is actively have Bray stalk Lora, more on her own without Randy around, eventually leading to your kidnapping. Say in three weeks? Great! Again, Lora, excellent work! I'm really looking forward to taking this farther!"

And with another quick hug to Lora, a pat on my back, Paul was off and hurrying down the hallway. Sometimes I forget how busy he has become since taking over COO of the company. The two of us stared after him for a moment, before realizing that the Wyatt's had wandered off too, leaving us alone in the recently bustling hallway.

oo

We arrived home early the next day just in time to have lunch with the kids. They had been terribly excited to see their parents again. This time we were home for three days. Next week would start Lora's brief appearances on Smackdown, so it's only going to be two days home a week for the foreseeable future.

"Mommy! I saw you on TV!" Tiegan screamed in her mother's ear from her own chair at the dining room table. She wasn't old enough to reach from a seated position, but she could reach fine on her knees and that seemed to suit her just fine.

It seemed crazy to think about that it had been two years since she had leukemia. I hated to even think of the word, in case it caused a reoccurrence. But there she was, my oldest daughter with brown hair that fell almost to her backside now. She had it pulled back out of her face into a high ponytail, but even with that, the length was still past her shoulders. Tia had her mother's hair, just my color. And for a moment, I just stared at Tiegan. She was laughing at something Lora just told her, and her eyes scrunched so tight together, you could barely see the green. Her mouth was split into a bright smile as laughter bubbled from her chest. Most days, Tia looked most like her mother. But when she laughed, the deep, gut-wrenching laughter, she was the spitting image of me when I was her age. She was going to celebrate her fourth birthday soon. A miracle in its own right. And my breath caught in my throat, just letting myself wonder at my precious girl.

"Daddy?" Tia exclaimed, waving her tiny hands in my face. I shook my head slightly, clearing the momentary trip down the fatherhood rabbit hole, to focus on the beautiful child in front of me. She giggled, because she had been trying to get my attention for a few moments. I smiled at her and gestured her to repeat herself, "I said, did you saw Mommy on TV?"

"I did, I did, and I thought she was just wonderful, what about you guys?" I asked, raising my voice to get the attention of our other three children. "What did we think about Mommy on TV, guys? Wasn't she great?"

And with that, both Keith and Tiegan jumped from their seats, ran towards Lora and attacked her with hugs around her waist. Mackenzie and Zackary, being strapped into their highchairs, simply clapped loudly and screamed their approval.

"It was really creepy Moma!" Keith said, sitting back down to his lunch, stuffing a chicken nugget into his mouth. That didn't stop him from talking, spraying the table in front of him with chicken bits. "Just don't sing that song to us!"

"I won't son, and please, chew with your mouth closed. You're just like your father," Lora said, throwing a smirk my way. I rolled my eyes and watched as Keith washed the nugget down with his tea. Keith and I locked eyes, and together we shrugged our shoulders.

"Sorry Moma."

"Well, I would have to agree with the Orton clan, Lora really was amazing!" We all turned to look at the new voice, and saw Genevieve setting her purse down on the kitchen counter, John following right after her. Two little blurs that shot past them announced that Luke and Tom had come with them. Once Keith saw his best friend was there, he jumped from the table and immediately began playing with Tom.

"Oh, thank you Ginny!" Lora said, hugging her blonde friend tightly. Since Casie's passing, Genevieve was Lora's closet friend, and I knew it did Lora good to be near her friend for a while. And even I was grateful to see the woman, because if it hadn't have been for her, I would have lost my best friend. "C'mon, let's go upstairs, and I'll show you more of what we're going to do."

"Hey, how come she gets to know?" I complained, holding back my laughter. She rolled her eyes at me and kept pushing Ginny out of the kitchen, both giggling lightly. I smiled at their backs and turned back to John. For a moment, just a split second, I caught him staring after the girls. More specifically, staring after Genevieve. But as soon as I saw it, John seemed to realize what he was doing before turning away. "So, Ginny seems like she's done a lot for you. I owe her big time."

"You owe her big time? Please, I'm forever in her debt for what she's done for me. She saved me," John said, his voice getting low and turned his gaze towards his clenched hands. I could tell that this was a difficult subject to talk about, and I think I knew why.

"Genevieve seems like a great woman, you know," I said, not meeting his eye and casually walked around him to the refrigerator for a bottle of water. "Kind, sweet and certainly very patient, beautiful… Although, I prefer red-heads, but my point is still the same."

"I know what your point is, Randy, but it's too soon," John said, standing suddenly and began shuffling around the room, mindlessly picking up the children's mess from lunch. I watched as John absentmindedly began cleaning my kitchen as he fumbled for words. "It's—it's not like that. She was there for me in the darkest part of my life. Only because she knew the dark place too. She was the only one that could literally say, 'I know how you feel'. It's different, she's a friend, and of course I need her, but… Casie was my wife. I can't just throw her memory away. She deserves more time. She deserves more than that."

"Hey, John. John, look at me," I said, gripping his shoulders and turning him to face me. His blue eyes were wet and I realized just how difficult this was for him. I knew John had feelings, however strong or weak, for Ginny. But what I didn't realize was how much he was beating himself up about it. He felt like he's betraying Casie. "It's okay. Look, it's okay. It was just a simple statement, and I'm sorry that I said it. It's obviously too soon for you, and that _is_ okay. But I need to tell you that, you deserve more too. And Casie wouldn't want you to waste the rest of your life in mourning. She would want you to live."

oo

"Oh, Lora, by the way, my high school reunion is next weekend," I said, slinking into bed that night, after everyone had left. It was one of the rare times the house was quiet, all four kids were asleep and Sting was asleep at the foot of the bed already. Lora tensed at my words, and pulled away from my outstretched arms. I sighed internally. "I've already RSVP'd that the both of us were going to be there."

"What? Randy, I don't think I'm going to have the time, with all this Sister Abigail stuff—" I cut her off by kissing her hard on the mouth, leaning my body to hover over hers.

"I've already cleared it with creative," I whispered against her neck, brushing my lips over ear lobe and down her neck. I heard her breathing hitch and I watched her throat as she swallowed loudly.

"I—I am creative," she fumbled for words when I brought my knee up, nestling it hard in between her legs. I chuckled against her collarbone, trailing wet kisses across her heated skin. Her chest heaved, rising and falling rapidly. I was turning her on, no matter the fact that she was pissed about the reunion.

"Humble, aren't we?" Smirking to myself, I look up to catch her eye. I could see that she was on the verge of not caring about the reunion, at least for a little while. "Besides, the day after the reunion is a family picnic, and I want the kids to go."

I felt her reaction more than heard it. She actually didn't say anything, which I knew was her way of covering up that something only slightly bothered her, but she didn't want to fight. However, that usually meant a week or two of above average levels of bitchiness, while the slightly-bothersome event festers and grows. A few weeks later, the ticking time bomb explodes. One time, she stomped around the kitchen for thirty minutes complaining that the dishes weren't put back right in the cabinets. I sighed and retracted my body from hers and propped up on my elbow. "Alright, what is it? And please, don't make me beg for too long, because right now, all I want to do is get you naked, and I can't do that while I know you're upset. Tell me."

"It's nothing really," Lora huffed, trying to wrap her arms around my neck. I blocked her and she groaned fell back. "Fine, since you just want to start… Why do the kids have to go?"

"Why would you not want the kids to go?" I asked, genuinely surprised by her answer. That was the last thing I would've guessed. "It's a family picnic; of course I want the kids there."

"Oh Randy, don't sound like that, you know I don't mean anything about the kids," she groaned and pulled herself up in the bed. She was only wearing one of my t-shirts so, even in the dark, I could see her bare legs as she pulled them to her chest. "It's just that, to me, it all seems weird and uncomfortable, and it feels like we're going to her party, your ex-girlfriend's party, to show off."

"You're okay with Keith and Tia being in a story line on national television, but not meeting an ex-girlfriend?"

"I wasn't okay with kids doing it at first," she retorted childishly, and I fought my smile.

"Well, yeah, I want to show off," I said, earning a small gasp and her eyebrows knitted together in the middle. I laughed softly and continued. "But Lora, this is not _her_ party. Yeah, she planned it, but it's not in her honor. It's my high school reunion. I was on the wrestling team, I had other friends. I was more than Samantha Speno back then. And I want you, and the kids, to know all of it."

I knew I had her after that. Her eyes softened, and the corners of her mouth twitched in a small smile. I took that opportunity to lean in quickly and take her lips with mine before she could say anything else. I slipped my hands underneath her shirt, barely tickling the skin with my fingertips. "You know, you had a point yesterday. You're sexy like this."

"Like what?" Lora's voice was once again breathy and jagged.

"Jealous." And I ripped _my_ shirt off.

oo

The night of the reunion arrived before Lora was ready. In truth, Lora would probably never be ready. And I was right in saying she was sexy when she was jealous. It brought out her inner monster, which appealed to the beast I really was. Her nose would crinkle and her eyes would flash at the mention of her. Lora had even starting calling her 'she-who-must-not-be-named' in front of the kids, as if Samantha was a curse word. It turned me on so much, that I couldn't keep my hands off her.

"Lora! Let's go, we're already an hour late!" I grumbled loudly from the bottom of the stairs. I had been ready for three hours, but she had been locked in our room, preparing with Ginny. It was formal, but was stressed that it wasn't over the top, so I decided on a pair of nice black slacks and a button down grey shirt, unbuttoned at the top, with a black simple blazer. Genevieve had come to help do whatever it is that's taking Lora so long. I heard a door open upstairs and soon I saw a blonde head, and Ginny smiled down at me, her eyes bright with enjoyment. I raised an eyebrow at her, but she just shook her head.

"You did say it was formal right?" Lora's voice alerted me to her presence. I turned her way and my breath caught in my throat. My wife stood at the top of the stairs looking like an angel. A most dangerous, sexy angel. Her dress was solid white and it clung to her body everywhere. It had tight long sleeves that stopped at her wrists and the dress molded around her thighs where it ended. It was a square cut design on the chest, which bared her smooth skin down to the heart-shaped cleavage. She walked down the stairs slowly, one at a time in her sky-high white heels. Her red hair had been pinned back on one side and thick curls fell down on the other side. Lora turned for me as she approached and I noticed the back of her dress. There was no back to her dress; the sleeves rested on her shoulders, but the back was cut out, and from her lower back to the top of her spine was bare skin. My heart was pounding in my ears. "You think this is formal enough for _her_?"

"Lora, you look…" I didn't know what to say. The only piece of jewelry she was wearing besides her wedding rings was the green heart pendant I gave her several months ago. For the first time since I brought it up, I didn't want to go to the reunion. I wanted to take her back upstairs and see how difficult that tight dress was to get off. Ginny giggled from behind me.

"See? I told you it was a 'no-words' dress!"

Lora cut her eyes towards me, and I saw the slight flush in her cheeks. Her lips were painted red, and they parted only just, but before I could drag her back to our bedroom, I forcibly made myself escort her out of the house. The car ride to my old high school wasn't long but it was quiet. Not uncomfortable, but I could tell Lora was on edge. She let me hold her hand the whole way there, but stared out of the window at nothing in particular. I slowed down and turned into one of the most familiar parking lots of my life. Lora's fingers twitched in my hand and I lifted it to kiss her soft skin on the back. I parked right behind the gymnasium that I wrestled in hundreds of times.

Hazelwood Central High School hadn't changed in years. Oh, I'm sure it had, renovated and updated, but essentially kept the same. I opened my car door and got out. It had been twenty years since I had been here, and boy was that thought a trip. Walking around the car, I helped Lora down from the Escalade and I tucked her underneath my arm. It was the middle of November in St. Louis, it was cold, and I had a feeling that dress wasn't very warm.

I directed her through a set of double doors that I knew led to the foyer for the gym. Sure enough, the same giant, black and gold hawk was still painted on the wall. I heard the buzz of excitement getting louder, so I knew we were getting close. We rounded a corner and saw a few people milling around in front of a table set up where it was obvious you signed in. It was obvious that we were some of the last people to show up, and I had a feeling Lora wanted it that way. Or at least that's what her dress told me.

"Name?" the blonde woman at the table said without looking up. I couldn't tell who she was yet. I gave my name and her head snapped up so fast I almost heard it crack, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Lora scoffed next to me, which she quickly covered with a cough. I noticed the blonde, who I still didn't know, shoot Lora a dirty look. "And is she your plus one?"

"I'm his wife, yes," Lora said, her voice simpering and sweet and totally fake. That's her 'watch your step' voice and I didn't fight the smirk at the accosted look on the woman's face. She quickly wrote my name on a sticker, and 'Mrs. Orton' on Lora's. She stood and leaned across the table and pressed my sticker against my blazer breast pocket, lingering a little too long. Then she just held her hand out for Lora to take her sticker. An idea came to me, and I took Lora's sticker from the woman and placed it on Lora's dress. Of course, there wasn't a whole lot of clothing space optional, so I put it under her chest, stretching my hand out to smooth it down. I brushed my thumb along the under curve of Lora's left breast as I did so. Lora bit her lip slightly before reaching up to rip off my name tag, crumpling it and letting it fall to the floor. "I don't think he's going to need that."

With that, Lora pulled me away from the table, and I chuckled under my breath when I noticed Lora left her nametag on. We walked together straight into my past when we entered the gym. My mind was flooded with several moments from my childhood. "You know, I won seven wrestling titles in this gym?"

"Sounds like you," Lora responded, a bright smile on her face as she watched me. My heart stretched against my ribcage at her words, however humorous, because I knew she meant them. She was truly proud of me, and my work. And I couldn't love her more for it. "Looks like we are the last ones to arrive."

I looked around at her words and noticed the hundreds of people in the room, several of whom had stopped and started to stare. I wrapped my arm around Lora's waist and steered her towards the crowd. People began shouting my name, guys that I hadn't seen in, well, twenty years. And soon, I was wrapped up in stories of Hawk wrestling, parties after matches, which teachers we hated most. And Lora, for all her reluctance, enjoyed herself, hearing embarrassing stories of my past. She actually began begging Pete Karev, the second best wrestler in my class, for all the dirt he knew. I loved every minute of it. Until I felt a tap on my shoulder. I knew before I turned around whom it probably was. And I wasn't wrong. Lora turned before I did and stiffened.

Samantha Speno. I hadn't seen her in seventeen years ago, and looking at her now brought back several unwanted memories. And not good ones. Her brown hair was pulled tight back in a bun and she wore a hot pink dress, her favorite color if memory serves correctly, and her brown eyes roved over me. She smiled and stepped forward as if she was going to hug me, but Lora stepped closer to my side before she could, clearing her throat with a sweet 'ahem' sound. It was now that I began to think that Lora had been right. This was way more awkward than I thought it was going to be.

"Randy, it's been so long. How are you?" Sam stepped back, in a safer zone, her smile back on her face. Sam was nothing but cordial, even if it was obvious she was faking it. She had a knack of tearing people down with a smile. That I knew all too well.

"I'm fine, Samantha," I said, tilting my head in her direction. My arm snuck out and grasped Lora's waist and pulled her closer to my side, "I'd like you to meet my wife and mother of my children, Lora. Lora, Samantha."

"It's nice to meet you Laura," Sam said, holding her hand out to my wife. I rolled my eyes, thinking that's exactly something she would do to get under someone's skin. And it was then that I truly regretted coming. I had hoped Sam wouldn't be like this, but it was who she was, deep down. But Lora politely corrected her and shook her hand. "I'm happy to know Randy found someone that could put up with his dream. Way back in the day, he was always going on and on about it. To be honest, I never thought he'd ever stick with it."

"That's actually how we met," Lora said, leaning over and slightly pressing her breasts against my chest. You could almost smell the estrogen coming off these two women. "Well, technically, that's how we met. It's actually funny story, because I hated him when I first met him. He did some not so nice things."

"Oh, that sounds like the Randy I know!" Sam said, and my skin ruffled. The nerve she had to say that. After how we ended, I was not the one that did some not so nice things. And she knew it.

"It was actually a big misunderstanding. I just chalked it up to a girl that did him wrong before me," Lora's light giggle was as innocent as it could be, but it was thinly veiled. Fingers slipped into my hand and laced with mine, and looked down to see Lora still smiling at Samantha. Lora was just as skilled at insulting someone to their face with a smile as Sam was; Lora just chose not to. Sam bristled at my wife's words and I could feel the tension growing thick. Lora, however, was not finished, "He's actually the best thing that ever happened to me. Randy is an excellent husband and father to our four children."

Even though I knew Lora was just saying that to ruffle Sam's feathers, I also knew she meant it. She had actually told me that on several occasions, and every time she did, my heart soared. Somehow, throughout all my fuck ups, I managed to do something right by her.

"Two more? Wow, and look at you in that dress! Must've been hard deciding to give up your career to stay at home all the time," but her tone didn't sound as flattering or sympathetic as it should have. Lora knew at least not to fall for that non-compliment. Instead, she just came right back.

"Yes, we had a set of twins, Mackenzie and Zackary," Lora said, pulling her phone from her clutch and showing Samantha photos of our children. I did notice that all the photos she showed her, I was playing with the kids each time. Lora was going all out to show off on my behalf. And she was never more in a natural state then when she was discussing our children. Or a potentially good story line. "Do you have children?"

"No, none of my own," Sam responded, her voice softening ever so slightly and locked eyes with me briefly before casting them down. Before I could fight it or choke it down, a light scoff escaped my throat. Lora certainly caught that, but it also seemed to kick-start Samantha back into her bitch mode setting. "I do have two step-children though."

My jaw clenched briefly before recoiling the monster. It was seventeen years ago. Thankfully, Lora didn't seem to notice my reaction or she pretended not too.

"Oh, well, motherhood welcomes you," and it was something Sam didn't seem overly excited to hear. But my wife could feel the conversation slowly spiraling out, so she roped it back into her control. "And about my career; no, I'm still working. Two years ago, I was promoted to the creative team. I work directly with Paul, Stephanie and Vince on scripts and story lines. You must've missed the last few months of the show, because I've actually been back on the show with Randy recently."

"Oh honey, you know, I don't think I've ever caught an episode of it. Wrestling's really not my thing," and she subtly finished off her drink. Lora raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, well, I assumed you had, seeing as you knew Randy and I had two children prior to the twins. How else would you have known about Keith and Tiegan, but not them?" With that, Lora put her drink to her lips and took a respectful sip, licking her lips in satisfaction. Sam looked as if she wished she was anywhere else.

Suddenly a woman yelled out from behind Samantha and looking over her head, I saw the woman from the front desk. And it all came back; that was Carla, Sam's best friend from school. She did everything with Sam. Everything for Sam. Finally, this ghost from my past was about to fade away to the sidelines. Lora nudged my ribs softly with her elbow and followed Samantha with her eyes. "It was lovely meeting you Savannah!"

I turned on the spot and huddled into my wife to smother the laughter I was choking to keep down. I didn't even care that I didn't get to see the look on Sam's face. I saw Lora's face, and it was enjoyment enough. She had been waiting for that opportunity since 'Laura'. Then my wife took me by the hand and led me out of the gym and began wandering the halls, trying classroom door knobs to check for an open door. Finally, my old chemistry classroom door swung right open and she pushed me inside.

"Well, that was about as much fun as a root canal. Hell, I'm glad that's over. But, you wanna talk about why you scoffed at her 'no children' comment?" She asked, wrapping her arms around my waist as she did so. I knew she was doing it to show that she wasn't attacking me for answers, merely inquiring. Though, I knew she wouldn't be patient for too long. "I only ask because you seemed upset about the fact she had step-children. You push me to talk, I push you. That's how we work. That's what makes us, us, remember?"

"It's nothing, babe, really," and I knew I messed up when I called her 'babe'. We weren't a pet name kind of couple. We really only used them in extreme emotional times; mainly when it's our hot, hot sex. However now was, unfortunately, not the same but nonetheless emotional state. I was struggling to not fly off the handle and I couldn't hide it from Lora. But how to explain it to her, when I've never told another living soul?

"Hey, Randy, tell me," Lora whispered, lovingly petting my cheek. "Do I need to go mess her up? Because I know I can take her."

"No, but I would love to watch," I sighed and sat down on the desktop of the small desks and faced Lora. I took her by the hands and pulled her closer, where she stood between my legs. "Seventeen years ago, before Samantha and I broke up, she got pregnant. Made me promise not to say anything to anyone. I was happy. I was twenty, trying to put the Marine stuff behind me and focus on my wrestling career. I thought that everything was coming together. It was then I found out that Sam never wanted to have children. It was something she was very adamant about it. So much so, even after several days of my begging her not to… she aborted the baby. I didn't know she had done it until she came home sore and a bit gimpy.

"I broke up with her that night. I thought who would do something like that to someone they loved? Made her move out, well I had too; Dad had co-signed for the apartment. But she was out of there regardless."

"Oh Randy, I never knew," Lora's deep green eyes looked heartbroken over my story. "I mean, I know I've never asked, because it was never my business, but you've never talked about her to me before."

"Hell, I never told anyone about the pregnancy or the abortion. And that blonde from the reception desk? That was her friend that gave her the money to pay for it," it was like now that I was talking about it out loud, I couldn't stop. This was a seventeen year secret and a lot of nasty feelings attached. "I swear that it's not her affecting me this way. It was when she admitted she had step-children. I mean, I thought she hated children. Literally, that's the word she used, _hated_. She'll abort my baby, but will willingly attach herself to someone with not just one but _two_ kids? I'm sorry; I'm overreacting, aren't I?"

"Look at me," Lora took my face in her hands, forcing my eye. "You have every right to hate that woman, and I might actually end up messing her up, because she did a terrible thing. A terrible thing Randy. And you've been living with that alone for so long, it's hard to imagine I was the one reluctant to come.

"It's her loss, really. Because she never got to know what I got to find out. There's not a kid on this planet that wouldn't be lucky to have you as their dad," Lora crooned, wrapping her arms around my neck. The ebb of pain was slowly fading with Lora's words. Her voice was like a drug bringing me down. "I know four kids in particular that love every minute of it. Four kids that scream when their Daddy comes home, cries when he leaves and worships the ground he walks on. Keith, Tiegan, Mackenzie and Zack, they all love you and need you and are extremely proud to have you as their Dad."

"I'm one blessed man, I suppose," I said, kissing her lips softly. "I'm fine, really I am. It… it just took me off guard. That was the last thing I expected from her, but I'm fine."

"Say you're fine one more time, and I just might believe you," Lora's words dripping with humorous sarcasm. "You may be fine now, but you still need to vent. But if I know you, you won't deal with it until the problem's escalated."

"We're one in the same, dollface. Like you said… that's what makes us, us."

 **Okay, so another chapter down! I hope you all loved it! I enjoyed writing it very much! And don't worry, the next chapter will have the family picnic and more Samantha shenanigans, but this time, it'll be from Lora's POV. I bet we can all imagine what's going through her head! Oh, it's getting to be good!**

 **And I hope you're okay with my involvement of Sam. I never cared for her, on a personal and biased perspective (and I'm actively ignoring the fact that he's remarried), but I wasn't going to do anything with Alanna. I know this is just my personal fanfiction, but it felt weird to have the storyline I wanted and Alanna too. I'm leaving her untouched in my own respect to Randy, himself, silly as it sounds. Plus, Randy's got enough kids in this story to deal with! =D**

 **And as always, review! You help guide my story as much as the characters do! I write for my own enjoyment, but I post for you guys! I enjoy sharing the Randy love!**

 _ **kimberly316, KarlishaCullen, RKOsgirl92, Chermayne, guest, bingobaby, AngelsDestiny22 and FIRE-ICEROSE and Amanda35125!**_


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